


Prisoner

by seriousam



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3811684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seriousam/pseuds/seriousam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Professor Korra, physicist extraordinaire, is kidnapped to build a bomb. The only thing ace up her sleeve is a long shot by the name of Mako, a young agent. Things get a little more complicated when she realizes she isn't alone and she doesn't want to be the only one to make it out alive. Non-bending AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear everybody, I'm trying something new this time and writing a Choose your own adventure story. Do check out my blog at infinitejukebox.wordpress.com/ !

“Wake up. Wake up!”

A loud voice sliced through my sleepy haze. I start to open my eyes. I'm not fast enough. A hard palm connected with my cheek. In a blaze of pain, I am suddenly instantly awake. The light is blinding. Someone is shining a flashlight in my face. I am sitting on a chair with my hands tied behind my back. I have a 9th dan black belt in several disciplines, including and not limited to the Four Elemental Fighting Styles. It didn't mean a thing if I was tied up, however. My eyes are sliding shut again. Another slap to my cheek and I wince.

“You’ll do whatever I say. You’ll eat when I say so. You’ll sleep when I say so. When I say wake up, you better wake up!” I was wide awake now. The first rule I’m learning today: do whatever I’m do, whenever I’m told. Lifelong learning, I am told, makes you a better person.

“You want to know why you’re here.” I can’t see past the light in my face. There could be five or ten or a hundred people around me, utterly naked with clown noses and I still would have no clue. I might have snorted a little at the thought because my captor pauses. I disguise it as a cough and he carries on. “Have you heard of the Red Lotus?” I jerk against my bonds but they are too tight. The Red Lotus. My research into energy was never meant to be used like that. It's a bomb of immense power. It's also completely theoretical. “You’re good at what you do, Professor. We want you to finish the bomb for us.”

I shake my head as fast as I could manage. “It doesn’t exist. Never will.”

“On the contrary, Professor, you’ll be surprised how far we’ve gotten.”

“I won’t,” I croak through my dry throat. I know, of course, how to do it. I think about it as a purely thought exercise. After too much wine and too little sleep, my brain wanders on its own and I speculate.

The voice moves away and behind me. “Tonraq. Senna. Unalaq. Do these names mean anything to you?” I thrash in my seat and for my trouble I am punched in the stomach. “Do it and we’ll leave them alone. Even if you don’t…Professor, there are more waiting to take your place. You’re not that special. And after we deal with you, we’ll still deal with them, in the slowest, most painful way possible." He hits me again. It's quick, surgical. These people are not into senseless violence. That's good, but it still hurt like a bitch. "Think about that.”

A bag is thrown over my head. I feel the bonds loosen, and then I'm dragged away by my arms. My feet are barely touching the floor. We march down corridors, muffled footsteps echoing around the enclosed space. I could hear a constant low hum. That had to be either a generator of some sort or some really funky central heating. Wherever we are we really far out. Far enough from the grid to need a generator. There's a sound of an opening door and the bag is yanked off my face. By torch light I could see my new home – a square room just wide enough for me to lie down.  They shove me forward and close the door behind me with a resounding bang.

It's dark and it stank. The aged smell of blood and sweat filled the room, though it could actually be just me. I feel my temple and my fingers come away sticky. At least it didn’t smell of piss. That would be terrible. I curl up and clutch at my shin. I’d have to thank Agent Eyebrows for that. He is the only reason I'm not also pissing my pants.

He came to me one day, just outside my lab. I wasn’t inclined to meet strangers for coffee, and so I made him speak right there and then. He told me the story and I laughed so hard I had trouble standing. He returned the next week with evidence I couldn’t argue with. I am a scientist, after all. Six months ago it had been Opal. Two months ago it was Kuvira. I knew them. I had worked with the both of them at some point. Kuvira’s fiancée said she had just disappeared from the house. Nothing had been taken except her.  Why me? I asked him. Why me?

When I was sixteen, I broke my shin after I tried somersaulting into a pool and ended up colliding with the side. I think I was trying to impress the lifeguard. Needless to say, nobody was impressed that day. My souvenirs from that incident were a long scar and a titanium plate. The Agency that Agent Eyebrows represented wanted to plant a transmitter there. They would detect some metal, but might just assume it was the plate. And then what? I would be taken, he said. They were just too powerful. I would be taken unless I consented to live my life in prison for an indefinite time.

I took the transmitter.

It was a one-way device. I wouldn’t know if they were coming. Nothing to do now, except to wait and hope. On the bright side, there are only so few people I cared about in the world. Only so few people would get hurt. I roll over, tucking my arms behind my head. If it's going to be a long wait, the least I could do is to get comfortable. I stretch out my legs, accidentally kicking the heavy metal door. It bounced on the lock with a clang and I wince.

Immediately, there's a loud banging on the door. The sound echoed around the small room and I clapped my hands over my ears. “Pipe down in there, Prisoner 2!” The guard hollers. "Go to sleep!"

I shift away from the door. If I was Prisoner 2, who was Prisoner 1?

* * *

Mako rested his arms on his steering wheel, tapping it nervously. When he had agreed to meet anywhere, he hadn’t quite imagined this. The stern woman sitting in the passenger seat was positively radiating hostility.

“You’re a fan of the movers?”

These drive-thru movers were all the rage now. They were on a little rise a little ways out of Republic City. Behind the huge make-shift screen he could see the beautiful skyline of his favourite city, framed against a starry night. The woman’s empty car sat on his left. It was a good location. They wouldn’t be overheard here in Mako’s car. If anybody walked by, they might just assumed they were friends or lovers. Mako eyed her sideways. Maybe not. She was old enough to be his mom.

“Not quite. You said you had a job. What is it?” The woman was straight to the point, as his intel had suggested.

“I heard you were the best in the PI business.”

“I am. What do you need?” Mako handed over a file.

“There’s a friend of mine, used to date my brother. She disappeared one day and saddled him all sorts of debt. I just need to find her.”

The woman opened the file and scanned it. Inside was a picture of a pretty girl with jet black hair and green eyes. She was good, Mako thought. Her expression betrayed nothing. “When do you need the results?”

“As soon as possible. I’m willing to pay, of course.”

“Hmm. I’ll take it. Payment upon delivery. How will I contact you again?”

“Mail it to the address in the file. Thank you for doing this. I don’t usually do these things. It’s just…it’s my brother.” She nodded briskly, as though she didn’t really want to know and exited the car. The mover was just ending. It had been a ridiculous comedy of some sort. Mako hadn’t paid much attention to it. He wasn’t much of a mover fan either. If she went and checked up on him, she would find he was an accountant with a brother living on the outskirts. The address he had given her would check out as his home for the last ten years. Mako waited until she pulled away from her spot.

“Sir, it’s done,” Mako said.

“Good job,” the radio crackled back.

“Think she’ll take it?”

“Lin is as good as her word. In her business, keeping your word is everything,” his boss replied.

“In my research on her, I found something interesting.”

“What is it?”

“It took me awhile to find out, but I think it’s of paramount importance.”

“Well, what is it?” his boss sounded impatient.

“You guys used to date didn’t you?” There were loud whoops of laughter. Evidently the radio had been turned up loud in the station. “For a really long time too. So, why did you-- ”

His boss groaned. “I thought I wiped that off the face of the earth! Don’t bring it up again, Agent. That’s an order.”

“Yes sir!” Mako said, reversing out of the drive-thru himself. “How is the tracking going?”

“Not very well. The damn thing doesn’t seem to be working.” Mako exhaled heavily. “The prototype is much harder to use than the manufacturer claimed. We might need to bring him in for a little help. Return to base and we’ll discuss this.”

“Yes sir!” He felt bad for talking the professor into it, but shoved the feelings away. She would have been kidnapped anyway. In their business, sentimentality was a luxury. As he turned into the small country lane, Mako tapped a picture taped to his dashboard.

“Soon, Bolin. If Tenzin’s hunch is right, this might be the end game.” They were not entirely right. The Agency was a system but the agents were only human. Sentimentality could drive a young, inexperienced agent very far indeed. Mako knew that first-hand. He, after all, really did have a brother. He just didn’t know where he was.


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up to the sound of the opening door. Before I can even sit up, I’m hauled to my feet.

“Walk.” The guard prods me with his baton. I look at my unbound hands and the number of guards around me. I begin to walk. All things considered, I had slept surprisingly well. We walk down a long corridor, painted grey and white. The corridor is clean, illuminated with weak white lights. These people are organized, disciplined, and worst of all, neat. Whoever their higher-ups were, they run a tight ship. I could hear the low hum of the generator. I hadn’t dreamt that up.

We didn’t go far. Down the corridor, we came to a green door. Inside is a lab. A proper, fully equipped lab. Like the rest of the complex, it’s neat and in order. I expected nothing less. Machines line the desks along the walls and fill the table in the middle of the room. The only empty side is a partition between my lab to the next. A green wall comes up to waist height, and above that is a clear glass window. At the corner was another green door connecting my lab to the other one. It was the only way in and out of that place. In the other lab, I could see more machines, but vastly different from mine The guards push me into the room. . On the opposite side of the lab, there is a small screen I hadn’t noticed. A man and a woman are seated about a table drinking coffee. I step unconsciously forward but the guards force me back and seat me on the only chair. In front of me is a lab book and a calculator.

“Orders of the day. You are to look through the book and identify any errors. Then you may begin your experiments. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” I open the book hesitantly and the guards leave. The handwriting inside the book changes four times. My predecessor’s script is cursive, artistic but not illegible. I ran my fingers over the page. The last entry stops abruptly. The table of results he/she had drawn was only half-filled. I swallow hard.

I turn my head to look wistfully at the grainy screen and almost tear up. Mom and Dad are having breakfast just like they do every morning. They have no idea their little girl living hundreds of miles away is missing. Not yet anyway. If I had any doubt at all, they are completely erased. These are very powerful people. Dad is the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. It should not be easy to plant cameras in the house. I can’t let them get hurt. Just looking at the screen makes me want to co-operate. I look down at the book and sigh. Then again, I could not possibly build the bomb for them. I know what my father would say. He would say community before self. The sacrifice of a single person, even if he is Chief, is still only one person, and that my course of action is clear. I have to stall for time.

Slowly and painstakingly, I start from the front. I had just reached the first change of handwriting when the door opened again. A stocky young man is pushed into the room. He must be barely older than me. His black hair is all mussed up and his clothes are worn and rumpled, but he looks unharmed. He looks surprised to see me, but gives me a grin. He gets smacked on the head for that.

“Orders of the day. You are to assist Prisoners 1 and 2 in their work. Do not otherwise fraternize. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” The guards turn and leave. With one last backward glance, the man goes into the next room and start up the machines. I frown at my book. I didn’t think there would be anyone but me here. Does that change anything? I hope Agent Eyebrows was at least a little more informed than I was. He would be rescuing three people instead of one.

The door was opening again. The guards pull the next person in. I feel my jaw drop slightly. Psychologists say that a heightened sense of danger can make a person more likely to seek intimacy. That may very well be the reason for the thoughts rushing into my head. The girl is beautiful. Young, like the both of us, with jet-black hair pulled up in a messy bun. She looks taller than I am, and infinitely more poised. She’s dressed in a high-collared mandarin shirt and slacks, both of which look dirty and stained. She doesn’t look at me at all, but just goes straight into her lab. My eyes follow her every move. I feel someone move to stand beside me and too late, I remember that nobody around here was a friend. My head is turned forcibly to face the lab book.

“Orders of the day. You are to continue your work. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” The guards read the statement to the girl. She ignores them and examines one of the machines. The guards leave. Honestly, she looks like one of the girls who adorn engineering magazines, but have never touched a drill in her life. I watch her in my peripheral vision. Even in this place, I’m concerned about coming across as a creep. She starts up a mechanical saw. Well, I was obviously wrong. She knew what she was doing, and since she was also stuck in here, I have to assume she is very good at what she does. She never once looks my way.

Halfway through the book, my stomach growls loudly. The man was starting up and examining one of the machines in my lab and he laughs. I smile to myself as I continue reading. I had a feeling we would get along just fine. As I end the book, the door is opened and three bowls are brought in and delivered to each of us separately. This is lunch I guess. I run my spoon through the sloppy mush. It looked more porridge-y than porridge. I take a spoonful of the stuff. It tastes like cardboard, but it’s still food. I look up and see the man looking directly at me. He waves his spoon a little, and poses with his spoon in the air above his bowl. I grin and copy him. He wants to race. Too bad he doesn’t know I’m the resident eating champion, even against Dad. We dig in and the food is gone in seconds. I finish first and he pouts a little. I open my mouth but he shoots me a look and shakes his head a little. I clamp it shut. Second thing I’m learning is they have eyes and ears everywhere. I look at the screen. If they can bug my house, this lab would be a piece of cake.

The girl hadn’t touched her lunch. She was concentrating on welding something now, stopping occasionally to cough. The boy puts down his bowl and heads over to the other lab. They speak as little as possible. The girl was simply impossible to read. They are friends, I think. I scratch at my neck as I try to figure it out. But their interaction didn’t seem very extremely friendly. I had finished reading the book. There were six errors in total, and that was probably the reason they never reached their goal. I begin to plan what I needed to do, all the while thinking up everything I could do to delay myself. Easiest way would be if one of the machines broke down, but I doubted they would forgive me if I took a sledgehammer to their equipment.

I begin to work. My lab is quiet, the silence broken by the coughing coming from the next room. It would have been a dream lab to work in if I wasn’t also a prisoner developing a bomb. I start up one of the machines and it makes loud whine. The young man immediately rushes over.

“I’m Bolin,” he whispers while he runs his hands over the machine. “Maintenance. 5 months?”

“Korra,” I whisper. “Who’s that?”

“Asami. Engineering. 5 months.” Bolin smacks the machine with his palm and it shuts up and purrs. We separate and Bolin returns to the other lab. He's Asami's assistant more than anything. That’s a little bit of information I’ve gotten at least. The guards come for me way after dinner is delivered. The guards have changed, I notice. The lead guard is now a woman. I wonder how many people they keep in this place, and if they were all sworn to secrecy. Perhaps they were all as much prisoners as we are?

“Number of errors?”

“Two,” I said. Some of the errors were more obscure and hard to see. It had taken me a long time to figure out it was incorrect. They would only know it's a wrong answer if they had the right answer in the first place. If they had the right answer, they wouldn’t need me around.

As they led me out of the room, for the first time, Asami meets my gaze. She’s not smiling. Her gaze is cold and distant. Her eyes are frigid green. She looks like I insult her by just existing. I exhale as my daydreams shatter and disappointment sets in. It brings me right back to my high school days with its copious amount of angst, excessive drama and continuous heartache. High school, it seems, never ends.

* * *

 

“Why isn’t it working?”

The man with the funny moustache peered at the machine. “Zhu Li! Take a look at it!” His assistant began to open the machine.

“The signal just disappeared, you say?” Varrick was supposed to be a genius investor. Unfortunately, it also meant he was quite eccentric. He apparently required a very special blend of flower tea and required his cup constantly topped up. Mako was now the unfortunate agent on tea duty.

“Yes,” Tenzin said quite calmly. Zhu Li had taken the whole machine apart and was examining each part, replacing some of them from her huge toolbox.

Varrick stroke his moustache. “Your parts are worn. And your battery is low,” he said.

“Can you fix it?” Tenzin asked.

“Of course, for a little fee,” Varrick replied. “Parts, you understand, are expensive.”

Tenzin hesitated, but he nodded to Mako. “We’ll pay,” Mako sighed.

“The antenna is a little wonky too,” Varrick frowned.

“Replace that too,” Tenzin said. Varrick grinned at the both of them. “When can you fix it?”

“It’s already fixed!” Varrick said as Zhu Li re-assembled the receiver. They crowded anxiously around the machine. There was complete silence.

“There’s still no signal,” Mako said, looking at the screen, confused.

“Well, there is also the problem that your transmitter is out of range.”

Mako groaned. The signal had moved much faster than they had been prepared for and disappeared. “How do we get it back then?”

“You can either drive around aimlessly until you find it again. Or,” Varrick held up his hand as Mako opened his mouth. “You can buy our latest prototype Super Receiver 2.0 for a completely negotiable fee!” He beamed at them as Zhu Li whipped out a spanking new machine. Tenzin pinched his nose bridge.

“Mako, gather the men. Let’s do some aimless driving.”


	3. Chapter 3

It’s my fourth day here.

For once, I’m glad I have to keep a lab book. It helps me keep track of the days. I am fairly certain, though, that when I leave the guards collect the book and take it elsewhere for someone else to look at. Still, it doesn’t really concern me. I know my science is solid, or in this case, as unsolid as it can be while still seeming solid. I twirl my pen and sniff. I am fairly sure I can smell myself.  It’s business as usual. I run some test on the machines. Most of what I need to be done can’t be tested in here. A single explosion would completely destroy the room. Instead, they had me draw up experiment plans and conducted it themselves. Then they delivered the results to me. So most of what I do is to think and calculate, to stare at my work while listening to the coughing coming from the next room.

Asami was always working. I don’t think I’ve seen her stop at all in all my time here. I glance once into her room. In the far corner is a screen very similar to my own. On her screen was a portly man seated on a couch listening to the radio. Beside him was a rather pretty, elegant woman. They had threatened her the same way. Perhaps she was far more susceptible than me. What a sellout. Still, I’m reluctant to think anything remotely bad of her. It’s just the way her eyes looked on that first day. Something about the mystery of it has me hooked.

I tapped a button on the machine and it beeped loudly. I pressed another. It beeped, in a different tone. That gave me an idea. Morse code. With two buttons I could type in Morse code. I can’t be too obvious. – I have to work my experiments around it. In forty-five minutes, I manage to type:

HOW ARE YOU.

I AM KORRA.

As fast as I could without arousing suspicion. I have to assume they have both cameras and microphones in the room. I was fairly proud of myself. The other two of them, however, don’t react. I’m bummed, but at least it’s a new way to entertain myself. Now, how long would it take me to type a knock-knock joke?

KNOCK KNOCK.

WHO’S THERE.

INTERRUPTING SHEEP

INTERRUPTING SHE—

The door opened. Five guards come in. Their hoods and visors make it impossible to tell if they’re ever the same group of people. Two of them hoist me to my feet. We were going somewhere. I dutifully march along. Asami was right behind me escorted by another two. We go in the opposite direction from the cells. I chance a glance back, but Asami is staring straight ahead, seemingly unconcerned. I’m afraid they are leading me to a more convenient place to die. They bring us to a low grey door and opened it, shoving the both of us inside.

“You have ten minutes. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” The room was a shower with four shower heads. That meant plenty of space for the two of us. There were two towels on the rack. I say towels, but they are really just threadbare pieces of cloth. I grab the hem of my shirt but I hesitate. I look behind. The door is left opened and one guard is looking straight into the showers expressionlessly. Asami had no such inhibitions. I catch a flash of sideboob before she heads straight towards the showers. Ten minutes was precious time. I hastily do the same.

The water from the shower is cold, but no problem for me. I’ve had worse in the Water Tribes. Asami coughed violently at the next shower. I sigh as scrub my back. I’m grateful for every little bit of normalcy I can get. Some movement catch my eye. Asami tilts her face up towards the shower, running her fingers through her hair. Her long black hair cascades down her back. Her lips are slightly opened, luxuriating in the feeling of being clean. She belongs in a shampoo commercial, I think, although there's none of that in sight. For a moment, her face loses its hardness and its frown and she actually looks peaceful. I shouldn't stare. I really shouldn't. It's creepy and perverted, though I swear my eyeballs stayed strictly above her shoulders. I tear my eyes away. 

Asami opens her eyes just as I avert my gaze. The guard watching us from the doorway makes me feel intensely violated. I have no more privacy left. And yet, with Asami around, it’s simply impossible to feel nothing. I bow my head under the blasting water and try to collect myself. This is by far the most confusing shower I have ever had.

I’m brought back into the room and my order of the day is read to me. It almost reminds me of the officious waiters in Kwong’s. I work, or pretend to work, until lunch. Bolin and I entertain ourselves with our silent games. It’s amazing how well we seemed to get along. If we had met anywhere else, I’m fairly certain Bolin and I would be best of friends. After lunch, it’s the same thing until dinner. Rinse and repeat.

We haven’t really been mistreated. We’re fed, given water and sleep. Nobody lays a hand on us. All in all, I am doing fairly well. I have nightmares, every night, mostly involving the first day with the flashlight and the mystery man, but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. Some days I do nothing for minutes as I watched Mom and Dad walk around the screen. The quality of the video doesn’t really let me see the details, what they’re eating, what they’re wearing, but I’m able to guess. It’ll be noodles for Dad, for sure together with some cold fish. Dad is quite a traditionalist. Mom would have whatever he’s having. I sit and stare and wish fervently I was someplace else. Then I open my eyes and realize I haven’t moved an inch. Wishful thinking only gets you so far.  

* * *

 

Mako left the station on his moped, dressed in a long overcoat. He was already a little late. This really wouldn’t do. He was almost all the way on the other side of the city. To make it worse, the thunder clapped and it began to pour. Mako cursed under his breath. He pushed the throttle as far as he dared.  He pulled up outside the restaurant, parking the moped clumsily in the lot and rushing in. This time, Mako got to choose the place. He chose a restaurant in downtown Republic City. Not so crowded that people would come to close to them, but loud enough so they couldn’t be overheard. Lin was already waiting there, dressed appropriately for a casual night out. For Lin, that meant khaki -- just a little less severe than her usual grey.

Mako removed his coat and sank heavily into his chair, wiping the water from his brow. “Sorry, I was a little held up at work.”  The waiter collected their orders and then left them alone. Lin, he noticed, ordered the first thing on the menu and didn’t bother reading further. “You said you have the information I need.”

Lin eyed him steadily. There was an audible click. “You better sit still, Agent.”

Mako froze. “What’s going on?”

“Drop the act. I did some digging, and I was very surprised with what I found.”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” Mako said. “But if you could kindly point the gun away from my crotch...” The waiter came back with their bowls of noodles, interrupting the conversation.

“You have a brother called Bolin. You are from Ba Sing Se, came here when you were children. You’re an accountant for a shell company. You’re not an accountant, you’re an agent. I want to know why you’ve deliberately lied about your story and what you intend to do with the information. Hands on the table.”

Mako slowly placed his hands flat on the table cloth. “You’re a PI. Why do you care who I am and what I do with the information? As I said, you will be paid.”

“Let’s just say I’m curious,” Lin said.

“You’re not going to shoot me,” Mako said. “Not here and not in front of so many people.”

“Not if they’re my people. You want to test that theory, Agent?” Mako recognised, perhaps a little hazily, some of the men around him. He’d seen them before, in his line of work. There in the corner, was Tong, the bouncer of the Triple Threats. Next table, it was Ryu of the Snakes.

“I didn’t know you were in with the Triads.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Lin said. “I have friends everywhere.”

There was a sound of sliding metal and the whole place was in an uproar. The waiters had drawn their weapons. One of them was even, rather excessively, holding a shotgun. The triad members had risen to their feet, knocking over chairs. They were similarly armed. It was a stand-off.

“So do I,” Mako said. The restaurant was completely silent. “I promise I’m here to talk. Good faith.” None of the guns were even remotely aimed in Lin’s direction, despite the fact that she had her pistol pointed directly at his family jewels.

“Put your guns down,” she said. “You can leave now.” Her friends reluctantly withdrew their weapons, and one by one, left the restaurant.

“Information is a currency,” Mako said. “Now, let’s barter for it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some violence

“The file you asked me to look into belongs to a girl who went missing six months ago,” Lin said. “Under very mysterious circumstances. It seems that her house was broken into and she was kidnapped from bed. There was a struggle, but the police were unable to solve the case. Beyond that…she graduated top of her class, worked all over the Earth Kingdom. Then she came to Republic City to work. Before that, top of her class at every stage.” Lin opened her mouth to say more, but seemed to think better of it.

Mako waited patiently but no other information is forthcoming. “Is there anything else? Political affliations? Public image?”

Lin flipped open the file. “She appeared to be a Unionist, but strongly with the Traditionalists.”

“Is that even possible? Does that actually make sense?”

“It means she’s for the merger between Republic City and Earth Kingdom, but strongly against Republic City becoming its new capital, according to her roommate. Understandable, she was raised near Ba Sing Se.”

“So was I, but I don’t care either way,” Mako said.

“You are a true-blue Republic Citizen,” Lin said. “Don’t delude yourself. The girl has close to no public profile at all.” Mako had a strong feeling that Lin privately agreed with the missing girl. This proposal was causing a lot of trouble. It wouldn’t even have happened if not for the earthquake that tore through the Earth Kingdom and left it in tatters. Mako had to give credit where it was due. Mayor Raiko knew an advantage when he saw one. That, however, was beside the point.

“You gathered all this in such a short time?”

Lin gave him a long, measured look. “No,” she said finally. “I had information on this girl for a long time.”

“What do you know about these people then?” Mako handed a list over. If Lin looked surprised she never showed it.

“It’s your turn to show your hand, Agent.”

Very well. Mako took the leap of faith. “My intel says you were contacted by a client for information on these people. Routines, addresses, that sort of stuff. Do you know what happened to them?” Lin did not reply. “They disappeared, one by one. Kuvira, about two months ago. Korra, two weeks ago. We find only two common points. One, they were working in energy technology. Two, you.”

“What do you want from me?” Mako was impressed. Lin had finally deduced it was nothing to do with the missing girl and everything to do with her.

“Have you ever met the client?”

Lin shook her head. “It has always been by radio. Never left anything traceable. I certainly don’t see them face to face.”

"How did they initiate contact then?"

Lin shrugged. "Ask them. I just got a call one day."

“The organisation you’re dealing with is both powerful and dangerous. They’ve been abducting people to help them build something. I’m not sure what. I wish I could prove it, but all the documents I have on them are classified. You'd just have to take my word for that.” Lin clearly didn't like that. “Next time the client contacts you, let me know. We need to find some way of finding them,” Mako said. “And don’t give them the information.”

“That might be next month, or half a year later,” Lin said.

“We’ll just have to hope for some good luck then,” Mako replied.

“Is that all?” Lin said as she stood up.

“Yes,” Mako said, surprised by her abruptness. “So you’ll help us?”

Lin didn’t reply as she walked out.

* * *

 

“She’s not co-operating,” the lab book was thrown back on the desk. The room is bright, well-furnished. The drapes are thrown wide open, revealing the rolling hills and the gentle turn of the river. They had nothing to hide and nothing to fear. “We’re behind schedule.”

“She’s not,” the man on the opposite side of the desk agreed.  

“What do you think might be sufficient motivation? Her mother, perhaps?"

He slid a photo across the desk.

“We took him by accident you say?”

“Yes. We meant to abduct only the girl. We botched up the timing and he came to her aid. He was her assistant previously.”

“Is there a reason you didn’t immediately shoot him?”

“The girl is a difficult case. We had problems finding sufficient leverage and I thought he might be relevant. Besides, he proved very useful in the lab,” the man said. “With him around, the labs are much easier to handle.”

There was a long pause. “He’ll prove useful one more time. You have my permission.”

* * *

 

I sit at my desk, frowning at the problem in front of me. I’ve scribbled down some nonsense idea, but in my head, I’m cataloguing all the correct answers. I’m still curious enough about the work to want to know where it could lead. Asami, as usual, is in her lab welding away. Bolin is helping her with the machines. Since that first day, she has not so much as looked in my direction.

It’s been two weeks. Still, there’s been no sign of Agent Eyebrows. It takes time to put an operation together, I tell myself uneasily. I’m beginning to miss the smell of the wind, the feeling of sunshine, the sound of pounding waves. I don’t know if we’re underground, but there are no windows anywhere. The only place I go is to my cell, to a toilet next door and to the showers. My only companion is the constant hum of the generator.

I had sent only one message today. I LIKE NOODLES. It was rather depressing talking to myself. My stomach is just beginning to growl when the door is flung open. Ah, lunch! In the days I’ve been here, I’ve fallen into a routine. It’s their routine, to be sure, but a routine all the same.

The hooded and visored guards pour in, eight of them. None of them is holding lunch. Four of them march into the other room and drag Bolin out. Asami immediately tries to free him. One guard hits her so hard she actually spins and falls. I watch with morbid curiosity, which meant I missed the other four coming for me. The moment they lay their hands on me, I struggle instinctively. I manage to escape one and hit him hard in the stomach. I head-butt another clumsily on the jaw. The other two double their efforts and I know I can’t fight them all. I don’t know what this is about, but I don’t like it. They bring Bolin down to his knees and forced me to kneel opposite him. I can see the confusion in his eyes.

“Prisoner 2.” I shiver. That’s the voice. The man who had spoken on the first day, the narrator of all my nightmares. “You’ve pointed out two errors. There were four. You are stalling on your projects. You have been deliberately recording errors in your work. In short, you have been very unco-operative.” He pauses and I dare not move. “You think you can outsmart us, don’t you? It has been _very_ fun, but as I have said, you will regret it. I hope you find it worthwhile.”

The guards start swinging. My head whips from side to side with the slaps and punches. I get kicks in the ribs, in the stomach, until I am curled into a tight ball. The blows eventually stop and I’m pulled back on my knees. Everything hurts, but a small part of me feels proud. Despite all the bruises, I’ve retained that little bit of rebellion, a little piece of me in this prison. They could punish me, but they couldn’t break me.

The man is speaking again. “But perhaps I have not been clear enough,” the man is saying. “Perhaps you need a little more encouragement. You are friends, aren’t you?” I look up and see the man moving behind Bolin. He draws his pistol. “Take this as a warning.”  

My eyes widen as I finally grasp the sheer stupidity of my arrogance. “NO! no, please no,” I shout. “I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’ll do anything! Whatever you want!” I don’t even know what I’m shouting anymore. I’m thrashing, struggling as hard as I can and so is Bolin. He can’t see what’s happening, but it’s not hard to guess. We are forced firmly down.

“Too late,” the man says. They can’t do this. Any moment now, Agent Eyebrows would come. He had to. I look desperately at the door, and then back at Bolin.

“Look away, Korra,” Bolin says. I can’t. I just can’t. There is a click as the gun is cocked.

“Please, look away,” Bolin pleaded. He looks worried. For me, I think. There is no more hope for himself.

“Look away, Ko--,” I’m still looking him in the eyes when the gun goes off. The sound in this enclosed lab is deafening. It is the sound of my world shattering. Almost too late, I close my eyes as my face is splattered with warm liquid and the pungent smell of copper fills the air. I gag. The guards step off me and I am free. I can’t find it in me to move. I keep my eyes closed, hoping against all hope that it was just a nightmare. The door opens and footsteps march away, dragging something behind them. Eventually, I can’t hide anymore and I open my eyes. Everything is red. The floor is red; my hands are red. An aching sense of grief fills my heart.

Today, I learn that failure has serious consequences.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and your kudos! I think I'm beginning to understand how George RR Martin feels >

I’m a wreck. I know that. It’s been a week since Bolin’s been gone. I keep saying that like he’s going to come back, but he isn’t. The thought that I am responsible for it hangs heavily in my mind. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I might as well have. Sometimes a loud thump comes from the next room that reminds me too much the gunshot and I jump. Or I close my eyes and remember the way his eyes looked as he pleaded with me. He was right. I should have closed my eyes. Bolin is everywhere, but crucially, he isn’t here.

I had to wait a day before I was allowed to shower. That meant I ate and slept and worked with Bolin’s blood on my face and hands for a whole day. I push the thought away. It made me nauseous. The nightmares have gotten worse. I keep re-imagining Bolin kneeling before me and it repeats and repeats. Some nights, I prefer to stay awake, staring into the darkness. I pretend it’s a dark, moonless night sky and it makes me feel a little better. The difference is just the lack of twinkling stars in the sky.

I don’t think Agent Eyebrows is coming anymore. I’ve given up that hope. Either the transmitter isn’t working, or he has more important things to do. I wake up, work, have lunch, work, have dinner, work and sleep. Rinse and repeat. That is what they asked of me. Progress is slow, but still it moves forward. I’ve learnt my lesson. I’ve almost completed the work I should have done in the last three weeks. For the first time, I entertain the thought that complete obedience was the only way out of this mess.

I’m working steadily through the calculations on some scrap paper for real this time. I complete my equation, and then stop to check it. I start plugging in the numbers. I finish it and frown. This is impossible. I run through the numbers again. The Red Lotus could flatten the entirety of downtown Republic City at its most conservative estimate. I hesitate. I don’t look at the black-and-white screen in my room. I don’t know what Dad would say, but he isn’t here to judge. Thinking about him just makes me think of Bolin. That, in turn reminds me that Bolin’s empty eyes, just when he…. I press my palms to my eyes. No more. I don’t want to do this anymore. I throw everything off my table. With a strangled cry, I heave the table and watch it crash onto its side.

The door flies open. A guard stands at the entrance, gun drawn. It’s the female guard. I’m disappointed it’s not the man. I want to hit him, show him some of the pain of Bolin’s death. She’ll have to do. I run forward and I hear a click. It echoes around the silence of the lab. I skid to a stop. I try to move but my fear won’t let me. My body is rebelling. Despite everything, I still don’t want to die. She moves her head to indicate the fallen table. I glare rebelliously at the guard. Behind the visor, I know she’s watching me too. I look away first. Slowly, I lift the table back upright and gather my notes. The guard retreats out of the door and it closes behind her with a loud clang. I stare at my notes, defeated. Without Bolin around, one or two of my machines are failing to work. Over on the other side, I hear some banging and clanking of machines. The cutting and drilling in the next room have never been loud, but now they seem simply obnoxious in the silence. I’ve been hearing the sounds long enough to know that Asami’s frustrated. Bolin had always occupied the silence, tinkering with the machines around the lab. It had been quiet, but I was never alone. I don’t know if Asami misses Bolin; I know I do. I miss him more than ever now.

A loud thumping interrupts my thoughts. Irritated, I rest my forehead in my hands and try to think. I have to finish this part, but I don’t know what to do. _Clank, thump, clank, clank_ I don’t know what Asami is building, but it’s weirdly rhythmic. I listen for a long while as Asami works.

At the end, I look up, surprised. Asami meets my gaze steadily. For the first time since I’ve been here, she touches the glass. She puts her palm flat against it, just for a brief second or two, her eyes still connected to mine. Then, she pulls away to study her lab book.

I had received Asami’s message. It took me just a short moment to decipher it.

YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK, BRAVER THAN YOU BELIEVE. DON’T GIVE UP.

* * *

 

The radio call comes in the mid-morning.

Lin was seated at her desk filing last minute paperwork. This merger thing was good for business. She had people calling left, right and centre looking for some leverage on their friends and enemies. Raiko was set to take over the governance of the united Earth Nation and it was highly unpopular to actually be against the shift of capitals from Ba Sing Se to Republic City. Republic Citizens had a very high opinion of themselves.  

Her office is situated just below her apartment. It’s brown and grey, just the way Lin liked it. Nothing decorated the room. The only source of sunlight were two windows beside the door, opening to the street. After years of saving and stinging, she had finally managed to move from the seedy part of town. Her business was even halfway legal. Briefly, Lin considered maybe finding a partner, expanding the business. She shook her head. She worked much better alone.

The radio cackles once, and then the voice comes through. “Detective. Detective.”

“Who’s this?” She asked.

“Vaatu.” That was the agreed upon code word. It was changed after every assignment. “We have the next assignment for you. We need routines, addresses and friends and family. The target is one Varrick Blackstone. You will be paid the usual rate.”

Very little of what she does is completely legal of course. Lin knows all about legal. Being legal, after all, was just a matter of perspective. The law is a tool and those who wield it have the world at their feet. She knew that first-hand. Following and enforcing it is better left for yes-men and fools. Still, it was strange that she had never seen her client. Lin tapped her fingers and cursed the agent. Now she couldn’t get it out of her mind. “Why do you need the information?”

“No questions asked. Isn’t that one of the rules?”

Lin took a deep breath. “That will be my condition for taking this job.”

“That is highly unfavourable.”

“You can look for someone else then.”

There is a lengthy pause. “Why do you need to know?”

“Let’s just say I’m curious,” Lin said.

The radio goes silent. Except for the occasional crackle, Lin could have been certain the caller had abandoned the task. She continued her writing.  As she prepared to leave for lunch, the voice spoke suddenly. “The address is 1 Lianhua Road. Tomorrow, 8pm.” The radio went dead.

Lin put down her pen and drummed her fingers against her desk. Finally coming to a decision, she took a bunch of keys and opened a locked cabinet. Inside were three pistols, two shotguns and a couple of knives.

If she was going, she was going armed. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a chapter! I'll definitely try posting more often if I can, but life has been absolutely crazy!

“You think she’ll help us?” Mako asked. Tenzin nodded. “But you bugged her car.”

 “Better safe than sorry,” Tenzin said. Mako nodded and wrote it down in his notepad.  

“You think HQ will contact her?”

“I know Lin well enough to predict some things. I think you have pique Lin’s interest enough to make her ask some difficult questions. She’ll start on the trail. Either on her own efforts, or I suspect the opponents will hand her an ace.”

“You have a very good read on the situation,” Mako said. “Considering that we don’t know who they are.”

“Playing pai sho against an unknown opponent is difficult; luckily this is not quite the case.”

“Sir?”

“Just a hunch, nothing more.” Mako waited, but no more information was forthcoming. They watched the transmitter move steadily out of town. “Still, It could be nothing,” Mako said. “She does odd jobs all the time in odd places. Even if she did find it, she definitely wouldn’t tell us. She’s a PI. She sells her services.”

“You make her sound like a hooker,” Tenzin said mildly. “Lin is stubborn and difficult, but she’s good, deep down. I have faith in her,” Tenzin said, turning his dark brown eyes to Mako. “You need to have faith in me. Do you trust me?”

“Yes sir, of course sir!”

“Good. Why don’t you sit down,” Tenzin gestured to a chair. “It might be a long night.”

* * *

 

Lianhua Road was a long dusty stretch south of the city. It was bordered on both sides by sparse vegetation and short grasses. Lin coughed. It was sandy and bare and frankly not very pretty. 1 Lianhua Road, however, was something else. The huge mansion sat nestled against the hills. It even had a green lawn, so starkly out of place in the brown background.

Lin arrived at 8pm on the dot. The gates were wide open. She drove in carefully. This could be a trap. A very, very nice trap, to be fair. Two men pulled open a pair of wide wooden doors on one of the outer buildings. Apart from that, it was all still and silent. The brightly-lit garage had only two cars sitting at the the side. Her Satomobile sat smack in the middle of the empty floor. Lin hid her pistols and her knives and cut her lights. She got out of the car. The two men were standing a comfortable distance away. She noticed with a start they were identical twins.

“Please wait for a moment,” one of them said.

“Apologies for running late,” the other said. Lin looked around the garage, feeling the walls. They watched her, but did nothing else. There was a door on the far end of the garage. Behind that door was the prohibited land, Lin thought. She could tell by the way the men positioned themselves between her and it. Perhaps she should try for that.

““We were told you would probably be punctual and probably be armed,” said the first.

“Please don’t be hasty. They’ll be down momentarily,” the other said.

The door at the far end opened. A man walked through, accompanied by one other uniformed man wearing a helmet.

“Welcome, you must be Detective Lin.” The man’s voice was deep and smooth. It made her hair stand on end.

“And you are…?”

“The client, of course.”

“I’ve always communicated with a woman,” Lin said. “Speedy sex-change?”

“Not quite. We represent the same interest,” the man said. “So do you, for that matter.”

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Lin said. She was growing tired of this aimless banter.

The door opened again. “Ah, she’s finally here,” the man replied. “She isn’t usually so late. We make it a point to cultivate good habits.”

“Lin.” That warm voice stopped her cold. “It’s so good to see you.”

Lin turned slowly. She didn’t need to see the speaker to know who it was. It brought her all the way back to her childhood days.

“Suyin?!”

* * *

 

The two women faced each other. “Of course, it’s been so long!” Suyin smiled warmly and held out her hand. Lin shook it numbly. Suyin was exactly as she remembered. Young, energetic, and not quite as jaded as Lin was. They were so starkly different that as a teen Lin had demanded to see her sister’s birth certificate.

“What are you doing here?” Lin asked a little too sharply, her confusion mounting.

“I am your client,” Suyin said. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time. Don’t leave anything out,” Lin said, slowly overcoming her shock. Could Suyin really be her client? She remembered what the agent had said, almost word for word. Surely Suyin could not be responsible for that.

“Why don’t you sit down.” Some of her people had brought in chairs and a small table, including a plate of biscuits and a pot of tea. Amazingly, Lin thought, Suyin actually wanted her to be comfortable. It’s not quite what she expected, but all her expectations went out the window when Suyin appeared. As always, she could never quite grasp what went on in her little sister’s head.

“It’s been fifteen years too long, Lin.” Su was gently chiding her. That’s right, Lin counted. It’s been fifteen years since she’d last seen Suyin in the courtroom, her pale face watching the case from the spectators’ benches.

“You were nowhere to be found after the case,” Lin pointed out.

“It’s not as if you tried.” That too was true. She’d sunk quite far after she handed in her badge. That case. The case that broke her and tore them apart.

“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”

“Right, right. You have to promise to hear me out first. Right to the end.” Lin grudginglt agreed. That was the least she could do, she supposed.

“I assume you know all about the fuss going on with Earth Kingdom and Republic City?” Suyin asked. Lin nodded. “Do you remember travelling through the Earth Kingdom with Mom when we were kids? The villages, the poor people. Ba Sing Se doesn’t care. In the ten years I was away, that’s where I went. I’ve been around, Lin. I’ve seen how they live. Ba Sing Se should not be allowed oppress the people. With the Earth Queen so weak, it might be the only chance the states have to break away. The Queen doesn’t have enough power to stop them. Republic City, however, does. The power belongs to the people, Lin. Let’s be frank. A union benefits only the Queen and Republic City. What does it do for everyone else? Nothing.”

“Republic City can bring trade and resources,” Lin said, grasping at her vague notions of politics. Despite the scope of her job, politics had just never really captured her attention.

“But they won’t. I’ve read the proposal end to end. It says nothing about trade, only about soldiers.”

“What does that have to do with you? With me?”

“We’re going to make sure Republic City will be in no position to take over the Earth Kingdom. By any means necessary,” Suyin said.

Lin chortled. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but we are.”

 “Well, I don’t care either way.” Lin stood up. “You’ve said your piece and I’ll leave you to it.”

 “You’ve changed,” Su said. “You used to stand up for what’s right. Now you just do what people tell you. You sell your services and you sell your morals.”

“Standing up for what’s right got me into trouble, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you.” Lin said and watched as Suyin’s hands trembled as they held her teacup. Maybe they weren’t really that different. Maybe Suyin is simply a reflection who she used to be.

“For this you’ve been kidnapping people left right and centre? Scientists and engineers. You’re building something. A weapon, perhaps.”

Suyin looked surprised. “Very well done! Did you find that out on your own?”

“Of course,” Lin said. “What you’re doing is illegal.”

“Legal and illegal,” Suyin said, “is just a line drawn in the sand by the powerful people to keep everyone else in check. You know that. Ten years ago, they took ‘legal’ and they broke you with it. In one day I lost two people I cared most about in the world.”

Lin had no reply. The whole incident had been her fault.  Suyin looked at her for a long while. “We have opponents. People who want this union to go through. People who want Republic City on top of the food chain. People who are looking to exploit the Earth Kingdom. We try and put those people away as legally as we can. But there are always one or two whom we can’t catch. Do you mind if we search the car?”

Lin hesitated and nodded. The two men got to work. They searched the interior, in the compartments and around the seats. Then they searched the exterior, feeling along the top and beneath it.

“Here!” called one. He pulled hard and he came away with a device.

“It’s a transmitter,” said Suyin. “They bugged your car.” At a command from the man, they took the device into one of the other cars and backed out of the garage.

“There, it’s gone. The people you’re dealing with are dangerous, hidden behind all those good intentions. I don’t know if they know what they’re doing, or if maybe, they’re simply naïve.” Suyin sighed. “I’ll be honest. When I invited you here, I wanted you to join us. I thought you’d see our point. You don’t have to join us, Lin, you just need to help us. I’m gambling on lives, Lin, I need your help.”

Lin didn’t say a word.

“Help me make the world a better place. You’ve carried the baggage for fifteen years, and now is the time to put it down and make it right. A storm is coming, LIn, and sooner or later you have to pick a side. I just thought it’d be mine.”

* * *

 

“By the way sir,” Mako ventured as they watched the signal start moving again. It was moving closer back to Republic City. Whatever Lin had wanted, she had gotten it. Tenzin went to the map and marked the spot she had stopped at. There were several other similar crosses spread across the map. “Have any of the search teams come back?”

“Yes, actually,” Tenzin leaned back in his chair. “A faint signal has been picked up east of Republic City. Assuming nothing’s wrong with the transmitter and the device, it should be somewhere here.” Tenzin abandoned the device and walked over to a big map tacked to a large board. He drew a big square on it.

“That’s great!” Mako actually smiled. “Let’s put the team together then.” He started scribbling on the paper on the desk.  “We can get four of my guys, maybe pull in Saikan’s team—”

“We’re not going in.”

Mako dropped his pencil. “You can’t be serious.”

“We don’t know if everybody is there. We have to get them all. If we leave the head without the body, they could easily come back, Mako.”

“But…but…this is my case,” Mako said. “You didn’t believe me! I followed and tracked it till you said it was a credible threat!”

Tenzin sighed. “Behave yourself, Agent.”Mako looked around to see their colleagues staring at them. He had to be professional, cool and calm. He should not have raised his voice.

“My brother, Sir, my brother is there.”

“I know, Mako.” Tenzin said. “But if they have a weapon, it could lead to the loss of thousands of lives. How can I be accountable for that? Your brother against a thousand lives?”

Mako sank into his seat. Tenzin was right, of course Tenzin was right. He wondered if this was what Tenzin did, sitting patiently at his desk all day. Was this what he did? Balancing opportunity and lives day in, day out, waiting for that final catastrophe that would end his career.

Tenzin put a flask in front of Mako. “You’re going to need this.”


	7. Chapter 7

It’s been a month since Bolin died. Everything had returned to normal. Sort of, I think. I still have nightmares at night, but during the day I can work without the constant thought of Bolin in my head. Today, the guard shows me to my lab and intones, “Order of the day. Your priority is the isolation and safe containment of explosive material. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” That last phrase brings chills to my spine but I ignore it and get to work.  Asami comes in after me. Her order of the day was, as usual, to continue her work. She coughs and spreads some paper on the desk. Like me, she can’t build everything in here. Sometimes she just draws the designs, and the guards take it away and build it.

She’s coughing very badly and it’s affecting my concentration. I turn to watch her sketch, a serious look on her face, and quickly turn back to my book. I no longer try to catch her attention. Fraternization with the other prisoners is bad. Maybe Asami knew that all along and that was what she was trying to tell me – by not saying anything. On her part, Asami doesn’t acknowledge my existence at all. I’m starting to think that I prefer it that way. At least I can be alone in my misery of helping the bad guys win.

I watch as she stands up and walks around the desk, frowning at her work. That reminds me to get back to mine. I turn back to my paper. That’s when I hear a loud thump. That’s not the sound any machine makes. I scramble off my chair and press my face to the glass. Asami is lying unconscious on the floor. For a moment, I think I see a growing pool or blood, but I blink and it’s gone. It’s just an illusion, a figment of my nightmares.

The door swings open. Four guards come in, hands on their pistols. No, no, this reminds me too much of Bolin. It takes me only a second to beat them to the door. I wrench it open and move through, slamming it shut behind me. I jam Asami’s chair under the handle. There’s nothing more substantial than that in this room that isn’t fixed to the floor. The guards pile against the door, shoving hard against it. Their shouts attract even more guards, and soon I had an eight-man pile up.

I touch her forehead. She’s burning up. An unconscious engineer is a burden and a failure, and that has serious consequences. “Asami? Asami?” I try slapping her to wake her up. It’s no use. Asami is out cold. “Asami? Asami? Wake up, please.” My pleas are useless. The guards are pushing on the door and it’ll give way soon. If I really wanted to, I could take them. I could take three, maybe four people stuck in the doorway. But what then? Even if I get a gun, I wouldn’t make it ten paces carrying Asami. And then we would both be dead. There is a niggling thought in my head that I could always run alone. With a gun or two, I might be able to find my way out. I hesitate. After what I did to Bolin, I can’t bear to leave her behind.

I scramble on her table for something, anything. A cordless drill maybe, might be useful. But everything in here is wisely plugged into sockets on the walls. There’s a wrench on the table. Maybe I can use that. I step on her lab book on the floor. In an instant, I see my gamble. I have nothing left but desperate gambles. I open her lab book and flip it. There’s no other handwriting other than hers. The door splinters as the lead guard stumbles in. Boy, do they look pissed.

They’re coming like a charging bull. I leap over Asami and spread my arms wide, sheltering her.  

“If you shoot her, you’ll have to shoot me too.”

The barrel comes to a stop squarely in the centre of my forehead. I feel the cold metal kiss my skin. I don’t move an inch. I’m afraid I’m dead if I move, dead if I don’t. I squeeze my eyes shut. Make it quick, please make it quick. There’s no bullet, no gunshot.

I crack open an eye. One of them has a hand on the guard’s forearm, stopping the shot. The leader, I assume. He gestures and three of the guards move forward to seize me by the arms. Last month they shot Bolin. I was foolish, slow and unco-operative. They could have killed me, they chose him instead. This is what I’m learning today: life has a price. I don’ have much, but I have a value. So did Bolin. So does Asami. Asami has been here for five months. She’s lasted through three physicists. She’s surely worth something; I just don’t know if it’s enough.

They drag me away from Asami, out of the lab and into the hallway. I see the other guards standing over her before the heavy green door shuts behind me with a loud bang. It sounds to me like the first nail on her coffin.

* * *

 

“Detective. Detective.” The radio burst into life.

“Who’s this?” Lin asked, though she already knew. It had been weeks since they’d contacted her. She was honestly surprised they left her alone for as long as they did. They had essentially shown her everything and asked for nothing in return. Lin wondered what Suyin had told the others to inspire so much trust. She couldn’t believe her little sister was actually back.

“Ghazan.” The voice said. “As per our agreement, we have satisfied your curiosity. Will you take the Blackstone case?”

Lin considered it. She had been to the Earth Kingdom. She had seen the conditions there. Suyin wasn’t wrong. Lin drummed her fingers against her desk. If nothing else, she still had a business to run. She had to be professional.  “As per our agreement, I will look into the case for you. When will you need results?”

“It is of utmost urgency, so as soon as possible. Deliver the results to the Lianhua Road.” The radio shut off just as the door burst open. The agent was standing at the door. Mako, Lin recalled. His name was Mako.

“Ever heard of knocking?” Lin said acidly, trying to recover her nerves. Did he hear anything? “Why are you here?”

“I have an appointment,” Mako said. If he did, he gave nothing away. The kid was good, Lin thought, for a young man still wet behind the ears.

Lin consulted her appointment book. “You’re Mr. Shan?”

“One and only,” Mako said, waving his hand. “So, have you decided? Will you help us? Has the client contacted you?”

“I have a business to run here. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Perhaps,” Mako said.

“I don’t owe you any answers,” Lin said. “But yes, no and no. I hope you’re satisfied.”

“So why won’t you help us? We’re doing good work,” Mako said, obstinately. “We’re keeping the law, we’re keeping people safe.”

“That’s what I thought years ago. And then I went after the wrong people.”

“I know. You used to be Police Chief. And then one day you just resigned.”

Lin barked out a laugh. “Is that all they say now? Listen, if you want some advice, kid, quit your job. I got my hands in this crap years ago and I can’t escape it now. But you still can.”

“I’m not quitting,” Mako said.

“Well, then you’d better be good at thinking on your feet and watching where you step. Things always look black and white on paper. But it’s not. This is a complicated and scary world.   Nobody wins. Everybody leaves a loser. Change your address, change your job and leave me alone.”

* * *

 

It’s night time. Outside, it'll probably be about lunch time, but in the cell it’s always night time. My stomach growls. I’m sitting with my back against the wall. I am too antsy to lie down.

I hear the key in the door, scraping in the lock. I back myself up to the far wall. I’m ready for a fight. I’m ready for anything. The door swings open. There’s more than one guard, as I expected. They have another person with them.

It’s Asami. She’s alive! They throw her on the floor. I reach forward to catch her but I miss and she crumples to the floor. “Orders of the day. Prisoner 1 will share this residence until further notice. You are not to fraternize with the other prisoner. Failure to do so will have serious consequences.” Another guard moves forward and places a tray and a pitcher on the floor. They retreat from the room.

I crawl to where she is. Her forehead is hot to my touch. “Asami?” There is no reply.

After much fumbling, I tear a piece of cloth of the hem of my shirt. I pour carefully wet it and place it on her forehead. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to do, or if it even helps at all. But it’s what Mom used to do for me. It reminds me of home and I miss it suddenly with a vengeance. If I get out of this, I swear I’m visiting home more often. I draw my knees up to my chin. I just need to wait for her to wake.

It’s a lot harder than I thought. Asami thrashes in her sleep and there’s barely enough space for the two of us as it is. I’m reduced to huddling in a corner, occasionally changing the soggy rag on her forehead. Asami also calls for people in her sleep. She calls for her mom and dad. She calls for Bolin. She sounds so lost and broken I just want to give her a hug. Sometimes she mumbles in her sleep but I can’t make out what she says. I can’t bear to think what I would do if Asami never wakes up. Fevers have taken people far stronger than her, in far better condition. “You’ve got to wake up,” I say. “It can’t be Bolin, and then you. I’ll go mad in here alone.” Asami mumbles in her sleep and I pretend she’s actually awake and responding. It was the only way to ward off my fears. It’s not fraternizing, I decide, if the other party is unconscious.

“I’m not sure if you’ve ever been to the Southern Water Tribe, but this time of the year we’d be going out on the summer hunts. It’s an especially nice time of the year, but I haven’t gone in a long time. We’d spend all day stalking and preparing, and by the end of the week we would all be stuffing our faces.” I stare wistfully into the darkness, picturing the icy landscape of home. I keep going. I talk and talk to myself and to her. In this darkness, at least I can imagine the reality around me.  A place where I was happy and free.

“There was this one year I ran away…”


	8. Chapter 8

Finally, at long, long last, Asami wakes. “Water,” she says. I scramble to hand her the jug. Her hands are shaking and I help lift it to her lips.

“I’m Korra.”

“I’m Asami.”

“I know.”

“Thank you, Korra.” Her throat is dry and she croaks it more than anything. It’s not how I imagined she’d say my name, but I’m wildly happy that she’s just here and conscious. I completely forget that I was sort of annoyed at her. Asami had subsided and had gone completely still for some time. I had begun to entertain a vague notion that she might never wake up.

“Where am I?” The guard’s warning rang in my head.

“I’m not supposed to talk to you,” I say. “It’s against the rules.”

I hear her shift. She sits next to me, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. “The cells aren’t bugged. Not that I have found, anyway.” I’m surprised to hear her talk so much to me. I was used to her ignoring my existence. I keep mum. She doesn’t know that for sure. It’d be easy to plant some things here and there and she would never know better. “It’s not all about the rules,” she says finally.

“Then why do you ignore me?” I blurt out. I hadn’t meant to say it like that. I guess I’m just cold and tired and hungry. I sound like a petulant child.

She pauses. “Touché,” she says deflated.

The conversation stops. I’m possibly the most awkward person on earth. “It’s all right,” I venture. “I’d be distracted too by all those shiny machines too. Drills, wrenches, spanners, wrenches --”

She actually laughs a little. It’s music to my ears.

“You said wrenches twice.”

I shrug. “I’m a physicist, not a nerd engineer.” There’s another silence, but this time it’s companionable. I had a feeling that Asami was working up the courage to say something. It’s strange talking to her like this because I can’t see her face. All I have to go on is her voice.

“I’ve been here for five months, give and take a few days, same as Bolin.” Her voice stumbles over his name. “When I arrived here, there was another physicist in your place. Her name was Opal. We developed a code. See, we had a plan. Opal had managed to somehow break out of her cell every night and she had dug a tunnel somewhere. The only problem was that she didn’t know where I was, but I was confident I could overpower the guards and look for an escape. So, she wanted to tell me the location of the tunnel. Opal was writing the code when the guards came in.” Asami’s breath hitches. “I was welding something. I didn’t see them till it was too late. They shot her, point blank, but only in the body. She didn’t die.” Asami cradles her head. “The worst part was that she didn’t die. They took her away, her blood just…draining out of her body. I can still hear her cries--” Asami took a deep breath.

“I’ve bent and broken almost every rule they have at some point. I’ve been beaten and denied food, sleep and water. But the one rule I never break: never fraternize with other prisoners. Bolin was never the same after Opal…was taken away. I think he was just a little bit in love with her. I saw what it did to him and to her and decided that it was a rule worth following. Bolin disagreed with me. He refused to let them control his life. He said that then Opal would have died in vain. He said that it was worth fighting every inch of the way.”

In my head I could see Bolin kneeling on the floor, pleading with me. And me, pleading with them.  This is it, the never-ending cycle of value and power and utility in this prison. I don’t know why I’m crying. I was done with that days ago. Crying won’t bring him back. I try desperately to hold my tears in. Asami is shaking gently beside me and I know she’s crying too. It’s a completely different feeling to be grieving with together with someone else. For the first time, I feel that my tears aren’t just a downward spiral of self-loathing, but also the first step towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Bolin worked for me in Republic City. The day I was taken, he happened to stay back late too. He saw the men in the parking lot and came to help me. He fought so hard for me,” Asami says. “He should have ran. He was so brave.” Asami rests her wet cheek against my shoulder, the two of us sitting together but so alone with our memories in the pressing darkness.

* * *

 

“Sir,” Mako said.

“Yes, Mako?” Tenzin asked. They were alone again on late shift duty at the station. Today they were sifting through the news, looking for people brought to court under odd charges, or mysterious disappearances. The organisation was starting to act against many people they considered their opponents and the Agency was hoping to stem some of their sources of information.

“What happened with Lin?”

Tenzin raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking about my personal matters?”

“No, I mean, what happened to her? The records all seem very sketchy,” Mako backtracked. “And you know her.”

“A long time ago,” Tenzin settled back into his chair. Mako recognized it as his Grandfather mode. “When I was a young man, I met Lin at a conference. We dated for five years. In those five years she had a meteoric rise to Police Chief. And then overnight, we broke up. After that, she started looking into some of the city’s politicians. At that time, the mayor of Republic City was Yakone. He was dirty. Everybody knew he made all his money on the side. Lin was the only one who did something about it. She went to court with it. Her case fell through. They didn’t have enough evidence and Lin handed in her badge. Yakone counter-sued her for miscarriage of justice, detaining his people without a warrant, that sort of thing. I don’t know what happened, because Lin used to be very careful about this. She followed rules very closely. The day the verdict was going to be decided, Yakone slipped on his way to court and died.  Just like that, the case abruptly ended and Yakone’s empire collapsed.”

“That’s intense,” was all Mako could think to say.

“Lin disappeared completely from public life after that. Why do you ask?”

“She seems like…quite the character.”

 “She was. I never did find out why we broke up. She dumped me by letter, for goodness sakes. But that was such a long time ago.”

“Do you think she’s changed?”

Tenzin sighed. “People change, Mako. The question is just how much. Now, back to work.” He picked up a piece of paper. “What do you know about one Hiroshi Sato?”

* * *

 

Asami has dozed off again. She’s still weak from the fever. She’s stopped moving so much in her sleep, so I can at least lie down and get some rest. The next thing I know, there are noisy boots marching down the corridor. With a start I realize that I actually had a good sleep without the nightmares. I feel a warmth to my left where Asami lay peacefully curled up in her sleep. It's sort of a nice feeling, but it lasts for just a fleeting moment. The door is thrown open and the guards come in, dragging us to our feet and down the corridor. Asami is just in front of me. She’s shuffling with the guards as best as she can, but they’re mostly pulling her along. Her head is hanging downwards. We come to a familiar green door and we enter. We’re back in the labs, as if nothing happened. Our orders are read to us.

I catch Asami’s eye and she shrugs just a little before heading into her own lab. She’s paler than usual but there’s nothing I can do to help her.  I can tell she’s trying to be strong. She’s leaning on her desk and sitting on her chair rather than move around. Asami doesn’t look over at all. Her façade was up again.

I pick up my lab book from the floor where I had dropped it in my panic. I look up at the glass separating us and squint. There was something there. Leftover oil traces of black ink that had been roughly washed out. From this angle I could see it clearly. It’s obviously written from my side of the glass. My eyes trace it, reading from right to left. I frown. It’s a haphazard list of formulas, most of which had nothing to do with what we were doing. The first is the gravitational equation. I scan the rest.

This has to be the final code Opal left Asami. Right at the end, I see a faded brown handprint pressed at the end of the unfinished equation. I don’t need to go any closer to know what that is. I picture Asami watching helplessly from behind the glass and I shudder. It reminded me too much of Bolin.

I pick my lab book up. It was time for another day of work. I sit at my desk and prepare my brain to do math. I place my pencil on the paper and fly through some calculus. I hesitate. I scratch out my equations and slowly start again, carefully miscalculating and mis-deriving. It’s worth fighting every inch of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My final for possibly the next few days! I'm sorry I had to break the fantasy AU world for just a moment in this chapter to introduce some real world physics for the code xD


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! The incident with Yakone is edited back to fifteen years ago to align with (what I imagine) is Lin's age xD. Enjoy!

“How is the progress?”

“We received Lin’s report this morning. She is very prompt,” the man remarked. He put the unmarked file on the round table. 

“I told you she’s good,” Suyin said. “And not just because she’s my sister.”

“However, it appears that the target is an associate of the Agency,” the man said. “Do you still want to pursue this course of action? It might be quite risky.”

“I am quite confident of our victory.” Suyin said. “These are the resources we can spare for the mission. As you can see, they are quite substantial. It’s also necessary if you want to divert the Agency’s attention.” There was a chorus of agreement around the table.

 “There is some concern that the target will be under surveillance,” the man said.

“Then we shall test the might of the Agency. The final objective will be to deliver a warning to the Agency. Obtaining the target will be a secondary mission." Suyin smiled. "They won't know what hit them.”

* * *

 

Lin turned up the driveway. She stared up at the house. She would never get used to looking at it illuminated by the garden lights.. Fortunately, she didn’t have long before the twins emerged and opened the garage for her. Lin drove in and parked her car. The man was waiting for her. Lin studied him as she rolled to a stop. His head was neatly shaved, no hair, no beard. His brow was heavy and his face was carefully expressionless. She took the file and handed it to him through the window.

“Thank you,” he said politely. “We have another assignment for you, if you’re willing to take it.”

“What is it?” Lin asked. Next to him, she sounded even more callous than she usually did. This place made her feel uncomfortable. It was pushing her into places and decisions she didn’t really want to make. The man handed her a paper with a picture on it.

Lin knew this face. It was Tenzin.

“Lin!” Her thoughts were disrupted by a shot by the door. Suyin was waving to her and walking over. “I didn’t expect results to come so fast.”

“It was easier than I expected,” Lin said. “That man is a bit of a show-off.”

Suyin let herself into her sister’s car. “So, have you given any more thought to my proposition?”

Lin shrugged. Suyin smiled anyway. “Keep thinking on it. Anyway, what do you say to dinner?”

“I’m not hungry,” Lin said automatically.

Suyin laughed. “You’re grouchy when you’re hungry, everybody knows that. Kwong’s it is. I’ll buy this meal in return for a right.”

She was already in the car and Lin didn’t have the heart to make her leave. “Alright, but I’m ordering.”

“Deal,” Suyin said.

* * *

 

“So,” Lin said. “why the sudden invitation for dinner?”

“I’ve been stuck in that house for way too long. It was good to get out,” Suyin said, watching the passing cars. “Doesn’t this feel just like old times?”

“Hiring me wasn’t an accident,” Lin said.

“No, it wasn’t. I left for Ba Sing Se fourteen years. When I left, you were a wreck.” Lin cringed a little inwardly. That last day, she’d told Suyin to go away and get out of her house. Lin was pretty sure she’d even thrown a dish. “When I came back, I tracked you down and honestly, I was surprised you were sober and doing well.”

“You didn’t think to say hi?”

“You made it quite clear you wanted me to leave.”

“And you thought this was a better way?”

Suyin turned back to face her. “I don’t know. But at least we’re together again, aren’t we? Mom was right. Family is family.”

“What happened to your husband?” Lin didn’t take her eyes off the road. She was quite ashamed she didn’t know the answer to that question. “I had a distinct impression you were married.”

“He passed away,” Suyin said, looking at the trees flash past in the headlights and the dark road ahead. “Four years after we moved, he caught a cold and died. I buried him that winter.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Lin could think to say. She could not begin to understand how Suyin must have felt. There was nobody in her life that close to her heart. They made the rest of the journey in silence. Suyin was right though. It was just like old times. The both of them just looking out of their own windows and thinking.

“You’re going to do something during the treaty signing, aren’t you?” Lin asked, half-afraid of the answer.

“Yes,” Suyin said. Lin was glad Suyin was at least honest.

“With the weapon?” Lin raised her eyebrows.

“No.”

“Huh?”

Suyin turned her full attention to Lin and hesitated. “We don’t have a weapon, Lin. We have everything we need to build a bomb, but I’m not building it. That’s too much power in the hands of one person. I mean, it’s not like I’m looking to be the queen of Republic City. It’s a bluff. They think we’ve got something and I’m not correcting them. Zaheer and I are playing the world’s biggest game of bluff and we’re betting a whole nation on it.” Lin swerved a little on the road.

“And the kidnapped people?”

“We take them away to keep up the charade. We’ll return them home when they’ve served their purpose.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“It has nothing to do with Raiko?”

“Not at all.”

“All this for the villagers of Earth Kingdom?”

“Yes. I lived in Ba Sing Se fourteen years. It was horrible, Lin. Worst of all, I was in Ba Sing Se during the Earth Revolution. Surely you know of that.” She did. She read all about it on the news, how Ba Sing Se was all fire and blood for one whole month, before the Revolution crumpled. The next day it was replaced by a shot of Raiko’s new hairdo. “The Revolution was Zaheer’s handiwork, but he did not succeed. It was a shock, an awakening. Since then, things have been even worse.”

Lin considered it. Suyin had never been a paragon of virtue. She knew for a fact Suyin had shoplifted a little and dabbled into the more illegal substances. Young Suyin was idealistic, somewhat self-centred and definitely irresponsible. That Suyin was gone. Her younger sister had changed so much while she had been away. Suyin had kept on living while Lin’s life came to a standstill. She had been a wife and a mother, she had suffered heartbreak and loss and now she was talking about taking on a city of very powerful people.

“They’ll crush you,” Lin said.

“Only if they find out.”

Lin took her eyes off the road and glanced at her sister, her face half-illuminated by the moonlight. She could see the firm line of Suyin’s mouth set in determination. Oh, how the times have changed. Lin wanted to believe in Suyin, believe that she could do it. Still, Lin couldn’t help but see her only family once again getting herself into more than she knew.

* * *

 

Varrick Blackstone was a genius and he knew it. But sometimes, even genius needs a little boost.

“Zhu Li! Fetch me my nightcap!” At the moment, he was lounging in his house in Republic City. It was a modest home, not very big grounds and just three floors of awesome.

“Yes sir!” The reply came from the next room. His assistant emerged minutes later with his favourite cup of tea.

“Put it on the desk.” There was a loud beeping sound coming from another room. “Shut the damn thing off, Zhu Li! I’m trying to think here!” Varrick was doodling on his sketchpad. She zoomed away. Prompt and attentive, just the way he liked his assistants.

“Sir, you might want to see this.” Varrick squinted at her. “It’s urgent, sir.”

“All right,” Varrick said at last. “Release me.”

Zhu Li pulled a cord, releasing Varrick into a pile of plush cushions. Varrick stood groggily onto his feet. Hanging upside down was never good for his balance. He followed Zhu Li into the converted storeroom. Screens covered every inch of the room. As well as being a genius, Varrick was also quite paranoid. They could see two teams of men at the northern and southern gates. Another large group of men were actually already on the premises, hiding in the bushes in what appears to be defensive positions. They looked like they were trying to be silent. They were certainly trying very hard to stay in the shadows.

“Intruders, sir!”

“What do you think?”

“It appears it’s two against two. I’ll guess that those two teams are from the Agency.”

“Ah, do you think they’re mad we overcharged them for the last prototype?” Varrick stroked his moustache. “It’s a good thing we have a no refund policy. Either way, none of them are welcome. Do we have anything that needs testing?”

“Yes sir!” Zhu Li pulled out a list. “The tigerdogs?”

“Yes, that’s a good one!”

“And the fire-breathing dinomachines?”

“Yes! Put that in for good measure. Let them get as far as the driveway. Our cameras are much better there.” Varrick turned to leave.

“Let me know how it all works out. If you have the time, throw in some of our new tasers. A little extra testing never hurts!”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait!

“Orders of the day. Look into the red circled portions.” I open the lab book to the relevant page. With a sigh and a calculator, I get to work.

On the other side, Asami’s work is still ongoing. Her work will drag on much longer than mine would. Briefly, I wonder if that meant that they would kill me first. After that one night, I had no further chance of talking to her. We were brought back into separate cells. For her sake, I hope it’s a different cell this time. I hope I never have to pull that stunt again. All it would take was a trigger happy guard and I would be toast. She was doing much better. I don’t hear her coughing so often and she hasn’t fainted yet.

I look at my screen. Mom is having lunch alone at home. She’s reading the paper. I imagine she finally knows about my abduction. Or maybe she doesn’t. People go missing all the time; just fall off the face of the earth. The day had finally come when I have not much left to do. My calculations with the explosive materials had borne fruit. I had brought them the long way, dragged it out and stalled, but inch by inch they were almost there. The red circled portion was yet another mistake I had made.

I glance over at the glass as I work. Asami’s definitely ignoring me, as usual. But sometimes when I look up I catch her turning away. She’s quick, that’s for sure. Just looking at the glass reminds me of Opal’s code. I think about it all the times alone in my cell. Somewhere in this place was my ticket to freedom. The problem was I couldn’t see how that would help me. Even assuming I could escape, that would mean Asami couldn’t. They would seal that exit immediately. The only way was to do it together. Now, how could I get that to happen?

* * *

 

Lin looked hesitantly up at the house. It was a dark, moonless night. She tied Suyin’s scarf around her neck. She had handily stolen it during dinner while Suyin had gone to the bathroom. Lin crept around the perimeter of the house. It was lit by a few lights here and there. When she had driven in earlier that evening, she had seen only two cameras on the fence. She carefully avoided them, climbing the fence agilely. It wasn’t that she _didn’t_ trust Suyin. She was just tired of the bullshit from everywhere. It was time to see what’s up. And if she wanted answers, she would have to get them herself.

She dropped neatly on the other side. Three men were standing on one side of the driveway with torches in their hand. The security patrol would be easy to avoid. She crept forward slowly. They didn’t look too interested in actually catching anybody. She guessed it had to be a pretty boring job.

It would be insanity to try the front door. The garage would most likely be locked. She had to try for a servant’s entrance of some sort. She skimmed along the side, pushing through the low bushes. The four were splitting up and starting their patrol. Two of them came towards her and Lin froze. Their lights painted the doors and windows on the house, and briefly skimmed the bushes in front of her. They passed without a second glance.

She moved forward. There. There was a grey door on the side of the house. Could she get in? She tried the handle. It was locked. Lin felt the lock and rattled it. It was solid. She looked up. The lock on the window might give her a better chance. Lin grabbed the drainpipe and began to climb. It had been a long time and she wasn’t getting any younger.

She reached the ledge and took a clip out of her pocket, putting it into the lock and jiggling it around.  Footsteps were coming around the corner. The patrol had returned. The lock clicked open and she tumbled into the room, closing the window as quickly as she could behind her. The light hit the window and stopped. Lin held her breath. The patrol moved on.

Lin clicked her torch on. She was in a study. She opened some drawers, rifling through the files. An accountant’s office, it appears. She skimmed the dates and stowed a few choice papers in an inner pocket sewed into her baggy jacket. Cautiously, she opened the door. The corridor was lit, but no one was in sight. Lin walked down the corridor like she owned the place. She randomly opened another door, taking another paper or two. There was some mutterings coming from the door at the end of the hallway. Lin approached carefully, looking in through the keyhole. Zaheer sat listening into his radio. “Is it done? Yes, the tests are being carried out as you say. You should receive the results soon. As long as we’re still on schedule. I don’t think Suyin will be too happy if we can’t make the deadline.” He fell silent as the other person talked. “It wasn’t successful, but it’s not the agency. It appears that the target was more prepared than we thought. No, Suyin thinks it wasn’t her who tipped them off and I trust Suyin. The target was probably just a little too obvious.”  There were footsteps coming up the stairs in her direction. Lin moved quickly away from the door. Where to? Back out of the window? She backtracked a few steps. Too late, the pair of guards had seen her.

“Freeze! Arms in the air!”

Lin raised her arms slowly. “I’m just here to return my sister’s scarf and I got lost. Call Suyin if you don’t believe me.”

The guards hesitated. “Move.” They prodded Lin with their guns and she obligingly walked down the stairs. When she looked back, Zaheer had emerged from his room, staring at her with those impassive eyes. They descended past the ground floor and down into the basement. They marched along a long corridor and the guards knocked on a door.

“Ma’am?”

The door unlatched and Suyin stood there in her nightdress. “Lin?” she asked, confused.

“You left this at dinner,” Lin held out the scarf. “The restaurant returned it to me.”

Suyin took the slip of cloth hesitantly.

“We found her on the second floor, ma’am.”

“I was a little lost, came right through the side entrance and didn’t see anyone about.”

“It was unlocked?”

“Yes,” Lin said. Suyin studied her for a long moment.

“Let her go,” Suyin ordered. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Lin raised her eyebrow. “Do all your men go armed?”

Suyin shrugged. “Like I said, we need to keep up the façade that we have something to hide. Hence the weapons. You never know when an Agency spy is going to be hiding.” Lin swallowed. “I’ll walk you to the door, make sure you don’t get lost again.” Suyin led her to the front door and opened it. “You trust me, don’t you? I know what I’m doing, Lin.”

“Of course,” Lin said. “You’re all grown up now and I’m in no position to judge. Just…be careful, Suyin.”

Suyin smiled at her. “I will. Oh, and thank you for the scarf. It is rather precious.”

* * *

Lin gathered her things. The last client had just left and she was free for lunch. Everything she had seen, heard and read refused to leave her alone. It was making it difficult to concentrate on her cases. Her day had been so extremely unproductive, and not just because of the lack of sleep last night. She hardly slept at all, expecting at any moment several intruders coming to finish her off. Daylight came and nobody showed. Perhaps she was really safe.  

She left her office. Today the city was very pleasant. Sunny, blue skies overhead, a light breeze from the south – it was a beautiful day. She made her way between the buildings, heading down ad familiar road and towards the park. Lin sat herself on one of the benches. This used to be one of her favourite places, back when she was still Chief. The turtleducks were pestering park-goers for food and greedily gobbling up the scraps. Children ran around the lakes and on the fields, screaming and laughing at the top of their voices. Annoying midday joggers occupied the majority of the footpaths. Lin felt like she really shouldn’t like this place but she did.

Several of the papers she had stolen were crap. However, one or two was pure gold. The accountant’s papers, for example, were valuable. There was a lot of money moving on those papers all around the world, moving a lot of chemicals and metals. It could be something, it could be nothing. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. And yet, Suyin was still her little sister. In her mind, she recalled the young agent who had pestered her over the weeks and all over Republic City just to find his brother. How could she so easily give her own sister up?

She looked unseeingly across the lake. The park sat in downtown Republic City. Against the bright blue sky she could see the roofs of the taller buildings. This was what was at stake. Lin looked around at the people of Republic City and she made up her mind. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the extra focus on Lin, but just bear with me!

Lin took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” a young boy called from behind.

“I’m looking for Tenzin. Tell him it’s Lin.” Lin looked around. Tenzin had inherited this scenic island off the bay of Republic City from his father. Despite the handsome offers, he had always refused to sell. It was a nice island, plenty of trees and older structures dating from his father’s time. Perhaps if she was interested in that sort of thing she would be more impressed. Instead, all she felt was that the place was bloody inconvenient. Lin had come in a taxi. She no longer trusted her car. Lin had to wait only a moment longer before the door opened a crack.

“Lin?” Tenzin looked much, much older than she remember. So did she, she supposed. His hair was greying in parts and he had wrinkles all around his eyes. He was sporting a moustache and a goatee.

“I recall saying facial hair never worked on you.”

“I remember. What are you doing here?” He still hadn’t invited her in.

“It’s with regards to the Organization.” Tenzin gave her a stern look, and then opened the door. “Come on in. We best talk in the study.” Tenzin led further into the house. A woman emerged from the kitchen.

“Hello! Who’s our guest, Tenzin?”

Tenzin coughed. “Oh, Pema, this is Lin. Lin, this is Pema, my wife.” They shook hands. It had been decades since they’d been together but it was still impossibly awkward. “We’ll be in the study. Business talk.” Pema watched as they ascended the stairs.

They walked down familiar hallways. Lin fought the urge to run her hands over some of the wood. She remembered this place very fondly. “Hasn’t changed much,” she commented.

“It hasn’t,” Tenzin agreed. They turned into Tenzin’s old room. It had been converted into a study. His old bunk was now a polished table and chair set. Where there used to be posters on the walls it was now bare, with the exception of a family portrait. Times had changed and everybody had moved on with their lives. Was she the only one stuck in hers?

“So, what’s up?” He asked once the door was closed.

Lin slapped a file on the desk. “I’ve been given an assignment.” Tenzin opened it.

“I’m flattered. Are you currently doing the assignment? Because this is a highly unorthodox approach.”

“I’m not taking it,” Lin said. “That doesn’t mean they won’t come after you. Take Pema and the kids out of the city before something bad happens.”

“Why not? Tea?” Tenzin poured her a cup.

“Personal reasons,” Lin refused to elaborate. She seated herself opposite Tenzin across his desk. Lin wasn’t the type to ever talk about feelings. This was the closest she ever came to looking for support. Just another familiar presence seated opposite the table, giving her some space and silence. Tenzin waited patiently.

“The address you want is 1 Lianhua Road. I don’t have much else other than that.”

“Thank you.” He reached forward, but she ignored his offered hand. Lin stood up. The meeting was clearly over. She walked in a dreadful silence, her eyes fixed on the floor.

Tenzin stopped at the door. “Lin. Wait.” Lin paused. “I know who’s behind it. I was fond of her too. There will still be a trial. Perhaps if she turned witness, we can still save her. I know people. Perhaps I could try to get a good bargain for her.”

Lin looked up and met his gaze. For a moment, he could see some of that old spark in her eyes. “Justice is justice. Nobody is above that. Not even my sister.”

* * *

 

Mako was surprised to find Tenzin waiting for him in the office. He was seldom that early. His expression was grave and Mako feared the worst.

“What? What’s wrong?” Mako cradled his bandaged hand carefully. Those flame-throwing dinomachines had not been fun. At least they’d kept the Organization’s people off Varrick. Mako counted that as a win.

“It appears you will finally get your dream, Agent. I’ve been given the address we were waiting for.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Mako said as he put his coat back on. He didn’t bother asking for the source. If it was good enough for Tenzin, it was good enough for him.

“You won’t be coming with me.” Mako paused.

“I have another plan for you. You’ll head the team to the compound in the east,” Tenzin said. “You’re a little inexperienced, but I know you’ll be just fine.”

“Thank you, Sir!” Mako saluted smartly. “I will not disappoint you!”

“I will take another team to their headquarters.” Mako coughed impatiently. “Be careful, Agent. The people we’re dealing with are dangerous. You saw what happened on Varrick’s property.”

“To be fair, most of that was Varrick’s fault,” Mako said. “But duly noted, Sir.”

“Still, I want you fully armed. Take no chances.” Mako hardly heard the end of the sentence. He flew out of the room, hollering to his men.

* * *

 

The guards wake me in the usual fashion – it’s flung open and I’m given two seconds to stand before I’m dragged upright. They march me down the corridor, and we turn in a different direction. Immediately, I know something’s up. I’ve been counting the days since I’ve more or less finished, and I guess this is the day. This would make it my third month in captivity. I surreptitiously assess the guards. There are four of them around me, all armed and prepared. I can’t make a move.

I feel the vibrations intensify under my feet as we walk deeper in the bowels of the complex and up a flight of narrow stairs. The guards open a door and lead me through. It’s a large room, like the inside of a warehouse. There is a huge metal object dominating the centre. Straightaway, I know what it is. It’s sleek and beautiful. It feels deadly. The knowledge that I helped create it sickens me to the stomach. There is a group of people in uniforms standing before the Red Lotus, talking about it in Red Lotus. I’m brought to stand before them. Another group of guards are coming this way, and they have with Asami with them. I hear her breath catch as she gazes up at the bomb. Most of what we see in front of us is her work.

“We thought you should at least see your handiwork.” Amongst the row of soldiers standing in front of me, one of them is the man. There’s no question that these are the leaders of this little organization. “We would like to formally thank you for helping us. It has been a pleasure.”

The guards are busy looking at the Red Lotus. I get the feeling they’ve never seen it. This is my chance. Perhaps my only chance. There’s too many of them and then there’s the Red Lotus. It would be suicide to shoot in this place. I glance at Asami and she’s staring at the Red Lotus too, her mouth set in a grim line. If I could get to one of the leaders, I could get myself a hostage. But I need to be quick and deadly. I elbow one in the stomach and punch the other in the face. Something cracks. The first one has recovered and I dispatch him with a roundhouse kick. The other soldiers are startled. They draw their weapons as a reflex. One of them actually shoots. The bullet misses and lodges in the floor. In the background, I hear the man yelling at them to stop. Two down, many more to go. In two steps I reach one of the officers in front. I throw a punch. She almost dodges, but I’m too quick. She reels backwards and her hood falls back.

I should follow that with a chokehold from behind, but I can’t. I know her.

“Kuvira?!”


	12. Chapter 12

I stagger backwards. The soldiers are rallying. Kuvira gets her hand on me and hits hard. She must be trained. I kick and she blocks.

Kuvira is a friend and a colleague. I’ve worked with her. Hell, we were even undergrads from the same school. Yet here she is in that uniform, staring at me with the firm determination in her eyes. I feel like I’m in a nightmare. My brains can’t seem to bend around it, but this is the only version of events that make sense. This is how they found me, found my omissions and stalling. This is how they found out Asami and Opal were talking – there’s no sane reason anybody else but a someone like Kuvira would think the formulas were anything but formulas. Asami mentioned Opal but it never occurred to me to ask about Kuvira.

I look at her impeccable braided hair and gloved hands. I should have known it right from the start. The cleanliness, the organization – sharp, surgical, disciplined. All the signs point to her and I am an idiot for not having seen it. At the same time, I know it’s impossible to have deduced that. I hate her with every fibre of my being. 

I strike hard, clocking her squarely on the jaw with a rush of satisfaction. The guards have made up their mind and try grabbing me. One of them grabs my right and I twist, smartly bringing his arm around and breaking his hold. I kick him in the nuts. The other seizes my left arm and successfully tackles me to the ground.

“Stop!” I hear Asami shouts. There’s a loud whirring and beeping noise from the Red Lotus behind us and we freeze. If the situation hadn’t been so messed up, I would have laughed. “Stop!”

We all turn to look at her. “Let go off her, or the bomb blows.” Asami is holding a device, fingers clutching it tightly. Asami lifts a finger. There is a loud noise and a blast of hot air hits them from the back. The back end of the bomb was a blackened mess. “Warning shot. I’m not kidding. Back off.”

That explains why my orders have always been so much more detailed than Asami’s. Kuvira, like me, knows a lot about the fundamentals of our universe, but we don’t know jackshit about a machine. I’m guessing that if her thumb comes up, we’re all dead. Kuvira thinks so too. She makes her men stay back. Asami pulls me to my feet with her free hand.

“Don’t blow it,” Kuvira says. She looks at Asami shrewdly. The others are all standing around, waiting for orders. Even the man is still. Kuvira, I realise, is in charge here. “Or your family will die painfully.”

Asami actually smiles. “Bullshit. My mother is dead.”

“Your father and his wife –”

“Breaking news: my father is in prison. You would be a fool to believe I care about my stepmother. I have nothing left. _You_ have nothing left.”

“Let’s talk then,” Kuvira said. “State your terms.” Kuvira hasn’t changed. She’s smart, adaptive, and a grandmaster at Pai Sho. I hope Asami can hold her own.

“I want a car and a guard. You will drive Korra and I out of here to the nearest village.”

“Out of the question. What’s to say you won’t blow us up anyway? I’d rather shoot you and trust that I can get my finger over the button before you release it.”

“I won’t.” Asami states flatly. “If I blow this thing, we’ll be dead and your Organization also won’t have the bomb. ” They stare at each other. No one backs down.

“Korra can get a ride out of here,” Kuvira says at last, not looking at me. “You’ll stay behind. You must hand over the device before you leave.” I’m not sure if I should feel flattered. Instead, I just feel horrified. I mouth to her not to take it, but Asami pays me no mind. Oh, Kuvira is good. She knows what Asami wants. She knows _exactly_ what Asami wants.

“Deal.” Asami says.

“Escort them to the loading bay.” The guards lead us a short distance away, through a corridor and out into another big room. We are surrounded by jeeps. “You. Drive the prisoner to Tung Shu.” Kuvira barked. A solitary guard runs to get a jeep.

“That’s some gamble you took,” I murmur. “I don’t want to go.”

“You have to. You need to warn someone,” Asami says. The soldiers are standing a little way behind us.

“Not without you.” I don’t care how pathetic I sound. This is not cool.

“I’ll be okay. Trust me,” Asami smiles at me. “Besides, you saved my life once.” I’m surprised she even knows anything about that. Perhaps she hadn’t been as unconscious as I thought she was. The jeep pulls up in front of us. “Now we’re even. He must be unarmed. Search him,” Asami tells me. The soldier obliges. I don’t find any guns. “Go on,” she urged. I clamber slowly onto the vehicle. I can’t waste the chance she’s bought us, but I also can’t bear to leave her behind.

“Good bye,” she says and even tries to smile a little. I begin to reply but the jeep revs and moves off, snatching the words right out of my mouth. No, this cannot be it. It’s not goodbye. I take one long look back. Asami is standing alone, looking so frail and small amongst the soldiers and the machines. She doesn’t take her eyes off me.

* * *

 

“Stop here.” The reading from the transmitter had started moving. Mako tapped his driver on the arm. They were almost an hour out of Republic City, following the trail of the transmitter. “Pull over,” he instructed and the driver complied, pulling onto the shoulder of the road.

“The compound appears to be maybe five miles from here, Sir.” He tapped a map where the ‘X’ was marked. The other men were cramped at the back of the Satomobile. He was the youngest here but they would respect his rank. He fervently hoped he wasn’t doing anything stupid.

Mako frowned at his device. “No, something’s wrong. The transmitter is moving towards us. Down this very road, actually.”

“Sir? But the final objective?”

Mako made a quick decision. “Pull over in the trees. Everybody out. Let’s stop that car.”

* * *

 

We drive a little way out. The complex behind me appears to be an old abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere. We’re surrounded by forests and only one road leads to and away from it. There is a wire mesh separating me from him, stopping any of my crazy ideas. The soldier is barrelling down the road. I’m not sure if he intends to keep Kuvira’s word or if he wants to kill the both of us by speeding.

I see the guard reach one hand into the glove compartment and open it. There’s a revolver there. Ah, I’m officially an idiot. Checked the man, but not the car. We come to a bump in the road and the guard slows down. We bounce over it. There’s a loud bang. For a moment, I think the jeep broke down as the Satomobile swerves. I’m thrown painfully against the door and against the mesh. The jeep turns off the road and runs straight into a tree. Then, I see the ruined windshield and the soldier slumped over the wheel. It’s no accident. There are men trudging cautiously out of the trees. One of them is carrying a smoking shotgun. I open the door and the guns turn in my direction. I raise my hands.

“Korra? What are you doing here?”

It’s Agent Eyebrows. I recognize him beneath the paint on his face. “We’ve got to go back,” I seize his shirt. He doesn’t ask any questions, but leads his team a little way down the road. I stumble after them. I’m feeling a little giddy, but it could just be shock. There’s a gash on my cheek where the mesh cut it and I feel the blood trickling down my skin. They’ve got their own Satomobiles stored neatly among the trees.

“Which way?”

“Follow the road.” We pile into the vehicle and the car goes careening back down the path. We leave the ruined Satomobile behind us.

“How many people?”

“I don’t know. Lots?” He makes a disgruntled sound. I don’t really know how far away we had travelled, but it was only a matter of minutes before the old factory comes into view. “That’s it!”

“Stop the car,” he orders some distance away. We dismount with tense efficiency and move forward quickly. “Be careful of patrols. Spread out.” We’re just paces from the car when a loud boom shatters the silence. A split second later I feel a hot wave of air punch into me. I fall flat backwards.

“NO!”

I roll and climb unsteadily onto my feet. My ears are ringing and it takes me a moment to register what’s going on. Agent Eyebrows was already dashing towards the factory. The whole structure is straining and groaning. It’s crumpling in a blackened mess right before my eyes, taking what little hope I had left with it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for your kudos and your comments! It makes a crappy Wednesday that much better

Lin looked up. The young agent was here again. “Tenzin is looking for you, Detective.”

“Well, tell him he can come down here then.” Lin looked back down at her paperwork. She felt rather than saw the young man move to seat opposite her.

“They’ve caught Suyin,” he said. “He’s wondering if you have anything that could help her be a little more…cooperative.”

Lin’s skin crawled. With a sigh, she stood up. “I don’t suppose I have a choice. Let’s go then.”

She followed Mako downstairs and into a waiting Satomobile. He looked terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes, his face was pale and drained.

“So you’ve busted them at last,” Lin said. “How is your brother?” The agent didn’t reply. He just stared out of the window.

* * *

 

I flop down onto my bed. My apartment is just as I had left it. Nothing had changed, nothing had moved. It was silent and still. No footsteps, no fearful anticipation.

I had spent a harrowing week at the station, recounting my experience to Agent Eyebrows and his boss. I suppose maybe a part of me should be angry they never came, but to be honest I was too sick and tired of this to care. I spoke robotically, relived the whole thing in my head, from the first day I met the man till the last day Asami put me on the jeep and stayed behind. I left nothing out. I just wanted to tell my story and get away from them. The hardest part of the telling was Bolin’s death. Not just because I’d caused it, but also because I could see Agent Eyebrow’s face scrunch up in pain. He had to excuse himself and his boss took over.

They finally released me after three days at the station. The first thing I did was to take a shower, scrub away all the filth and memories of that place. Then, I changed into a fresh set of clothes and threw my old ones into the trash. Only then did I lie on my bed, my little haven of comfort. I pull the blankets over me and try to sleep.

Something just didn’t feel right. I lie on my back, looking at the ceiling. I’m clean and safe, finally in the privacy of my own home. I’d spoken to my parents and eaten my favourite noodles for dinner. It’s everything I need in a good night. But when I close my eyes, it’s that pair of green eyes just looking right at me with the beginnings of a smile.

I hug my pillow and let myself cry for the first time in days.

* * *

 

Lin stood beside Tenzin as they stared at Suyin through the glass. They were one level above the prisoner and from her angle it would be impossible to see the both of them. Mako had been dismissed to get a coffee break.

“He doesn’t seem too well,” Lin remarked.

“It was a hard case for him. I think I might have pushed it a little too far,” Tenzin replied with a sigh. “His brother didn’t make it. The other prisoner said he was shot weeks ago. But that’s another issue. The problem here is Suyin. I want her to turn witness for us. You know how to talk to her.” He paused. “If she doesn’t co-operate, the Agency might have to resort to harsher methods.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Not at all. I’m just telling the truth.” He was right and Lin knew it. “We have most of them. We’re just missing one of the leaders, a woman named Kuvira. She wasn’t at the HQ when we went in and she wasn’t found at the factory. We need some information about her.”

Lin was silent for a long moment. She watched as Suyin ignored the two officers seated opposite her. Then, she began speaking slowly. “Fifteen years ago, I was the Chief. I thought I was good enough to bring down Yakone. I took precautions.” Lin looked at him sideways. “I broke up with you. Suyin was married at that time to a wealthy man and they lived outside the city. Beyond the two of you, I had no other friends. I thought I was safe. When Yakone found out what I was doing, he threatened me. I ignored him. I had the might of the police behind me and I was fairly secure. I underestimated him. Yakone kidnapped Suyin’s daughter while she was in school. He told me that if I backed down, I would get her back.”

Lin took a deep breath. “Suyin had four sons. More than anything, she wanted a daughter. When the girl was born, Suyin was ecstatic. And now her daughter was taken. Suyin wanted her daughter back -- which mother wouldn’t? But more than anything, she trusted me. She believed in me. I told her it would be fine. I was far too invested to give in to Yakone’s demands. I tried to start a citywide manhunt for the child and but I was block again and again by Yakone and the judge. I came up with nothing. And then Yakone turned the tables on me and I went down hard. You want me to go down there and tell her that I broke her trust again?”

“Yes. Lin, help me help her.”

Lin stared at him. “I want to be clear about one thing. This has nothing to do with helping you. You put her in this position and I sold her out. There is nothing right with any of that.”

“And yet, we’re only small people in a big picture,” Tenzin said softly. “It’s the big picture I’m looking at.” It was the bigger picture she was looking at too. Lin made her way down the stairs. The pair of agents at the door opened it for her.

“Lin?” Suyin partially stood. The agents in the room left them alone. “Tell me you didn’t just betray me.”

“I did. But before you say anything, hear me out.” Lin put a manila folder on the table. “I’m sorry, I really am.”

“That doesn’t quite cut it.”

“You lied to me, Suyin.” Suyin remained silent. “And still I would have been on your side. I don't believe you would have triggered the bomb. I would have washed my hands of the matter if not for one thing.” Lin took out a picture from the file. “This is a recent, full-coloured portrait of Opal, one of the scientists you took. None of that grainy black and white nonsense.” She gestured at the mirror next to them. Suyin turned and Lin held the paper next to her face. Suyin inhaled sharply as she stared into the same green eyes in the mirror.

“When the agent had me look into Opal again, deeper into her history. Before she came to Republic City, Opal was from Ba Sing Se. She was raised by foster parents. And before that…” Suyin grabbed the picture, scruntinising it. Her face was deathly pale. “Yakone stole her and left her with a man from the Triads called Shady Shin. He was supposed to await Yakone’s orders on what to do with her. When Yakone died suddenly, Shady Shin found himself an illegal custodian of a young girl. He did the only sensible thing he could – he gave her to an orphanage in Ba Sing Se, far enough from Republic City not to arouse suspicion and washed his hands of the matter.”

“The judge at that time was a young man named Raiko and he destroyed the both of us. I don’t believe you when you said it has nothing to do with Raiko taking power.” Lin looked sadly down at the picture. “Fifteen years ago, you told me to do what’s right and stand up for the small people. Today, you’re ready to sacrifice the same people for a dream. The Suyin I used to know would never have done this. You asked me to let the baggage go, but I don’t think I’m the only one holding on to it. We are, after all, just small people with big ideals. Yours have just been clouded by such personal events.”

Suyin had gone completely silent. “Maybe it’s finally time to let it go. This is your daughter, Su. She was shot and murdered under your care. I’m so sorry.”

Lin could not bear to watch her sister’s heart break. She closed the file and shuffled out of the room. Tenzin was waiting for her outside. She pressed the file to his chest.

“I’m done here.  Don’t ever contact me again.”


	14. Chapter 14

I sit down at my table. I’m at my desk, back at work. My lab is just next door, but sometimes it makes me uncomfortable to be in there. I squirm in my seat. Somehow just sitting still makes me uncomfortable. I mess with my pens and push random buttons on my calculator.

“I’m going home,” I say finally. My assistant just nods and says nothing. I can see from their eyes that they’re relived. I’m disturbing everybody in the lab, but everyone is too polite to say so. I wonder how long they’ll let me get away with it. They were told that I was away on a family emergency, backed by letters helpfully provided by the Agency. Presumably somebody had died, but I couldn’t remember who they had said it was.

I buy take-out on my way home and switch on the radio while I eat it. There’s nothing interesting on the news. After dinner, I pace my living room. It’s too early to sleep. I’m too antsy to sit still and too jumpy to go out. Crowded places still make me nervous. I’ve got new locks installed on all my doors and windows and I’m careful to keep changing my routines. It has been one month. One whole month since I've come home. Everything feels the same, but different. At last I walk to my kitchen and open a cabinet, taking out a tall bottle of clear liquid and a glass. This would be my buddy for the night. It’s over, I remind myself as I pour my drink. It’s over. You need to let it go. I look around at my apartment and realise how empty it is. No wonder they had no one else to threaten me with. This was not what I thought life would be like five years ago. I thought I would be happy and satisfied, with someone to come home to every night. I guess I just never thought much about it until my life was nearly taken from me.

I seat myself in my big armchair. Again, I see Asami’s emerald eyes contrasting strikingly with her porcelain skin, her lips curved in a half-smile. What is this love at first sight nonsense? Nothing about it feels rational or well-considered. Is it normal to do that without even having a proper conversation? It’s the prison, I decide. She was my only friend in there. And well, she was freaking gorgeous. I was lonely and feeling guilty. Lust, probably, not love. It’s natural to feel these things. But she’s gone. My train of thought comes to a complete stop at that thought. No, no, I need to remember her like she was alive. I’m finding it more and more difficult to string my thoughts together as the bottle empties itself, so I take a piece of paper and write it down. It could be the alcohol, but it could also just be my scattered brain.

 _Love is swifter than I thought, briefer than I desired, and deeper than I can forget. Love is so unfair._ I stare at the paper. _Asami is so unfair._ This is good, I think groggily. Screw physics. Should’ve been a bloody poet.

* * *

 

Mako recited the address again in his mind. It was an apartment on the edge of town. He alighted wearily from his car and trudged up the stairs. The flat was on the top floor. Mako knocked. There was no reply. He hammered on the door, leaning his weight behind every strike.

“I know you’re in there!” Still no reply. “I know you’re in there, Asa—” the door flew open and he landed in a heap on the floor. Mako looked up into the shiny barrel of a pistol.

“Who are you?” The woman holding the weapon was almost just as captivating as it was. Her black hair was tied back in a neat bun and her green eyes were bright and fierce.

“I’m with an Agency. We’re responsible for capturing Suyin Beifong and Zaheer. I’m Bolin’s brother. He might have mentioned me. Mako?” The woman didn’t let up. “However, as you might know, we’re missing someone. A woman named Kuvira. We were told you were the last witness on the scene of crime.”

“How did you find me?” The girl asked.

“I’m good at finding things,” Mako said. “Can I get up now?”

“No. Keep talking.”

“Kuvira is dangerous. Most of the prison you were held in was organized and ran by her. We don’t know if she’s escaped, but we haven’t found a body. So we assume the worst.”

“It’s not impossible. The last I saw her, she was in the loading bay.”

“Suyin told us about Kuvira. She’s driven and she knows her targets. We have reason to believe that Kuvira will come after you and another prisoner named Korra. You’re the only ones who know how the Red Lotus works and you’ve been in the Organization.” Mako looked around. The house was furnished with just the bare essentials. “You already guessed this. You’re in hiding.”

“Well, duh. I don’t greet all my guests with a pistol. Back to the topic if you please.”

“We would like to provide extra security and keep an eye on this place, with your permission,” Mako said. Asami stared at him, and then put down her gun.

“Decided to trust me?”

“No, just decided I don’t distrust you,” Asami said calmly.

“How does a girl like you even own a place like this? It took me ages just to track it down to you.”

“My father used to be in with some really bad men. He had safehouses like this all over the city for us. Some of them were compromised, but not all,” Asami replied. “This is more or less my childhood. You can get off the floor.”

Mako stood up and leaned against the wall. “What happened in there?” Mako asked finally. “I saw the factory go down.”

“I tricked Kuvira,” Asami said. “I never armed the bomb. I made an electric stun grenade and handed it over to Kuvira before it blew. Easy. The factory, however…I’m not too sure. Just before I escaped, I messed with the generators. That could have caused it.” She looked around her house, deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Another proposal. Instead of going to Kuvira, we should make Kuvira come to us. We can bait her out,” Asami said.

“What you’re suggesting is incredibly dangerous,” Mako replied. “Kuvira has already shown herself capable of killing for gain. I don’t have the resources to cover every angle. We might have to accept,” Mako paused. “Unrecoverable losses.” He spat those words out. “In our pursuit of Kuvira.”

“Accept that I’m going to die, you mean?”

“Yes,” Mako exhaled. “To ensure we catch her, the trap must be solid. We cannot move too soon, and that makes it even riskier. Why not just sit and wait?”

“I won’t live my life in hiding. Besides,” Asami hesitated. “If Kuvira is intent on coming after us, Korra is a sitting duck. She doesn’t know. We won’t have a chance unless we act first. If she cares enough to come after us, we’ll be prepared. If she doesn’t care enough to come, then I can finally get out of this place. It’s a win-win.”

“Korra’s already gone back to her semi-public life and you’re still in hiding. Logically speaking,” Mako said slowly, “Korra should be bait.”

“Why don’t you let Korra and I discuss this and we’ll get back to you.”

“That is really not the best—”

“It’s our lives you’re risking,” Asami interrupted. “Take it or leave it.”

“Is this usually how your business negotiations go?” Mako sighed and handed over a piece of paper. “Send your reply to this address,” he said. “Within the next three days. You know where to find Korra?”

Asami shrugged. “I don’t believe that should be a problem.”

* * *

 

A gloved hand rests on a revolver with a mahogany wooden stock.

“Take your big guns, you’re going to need them.” The men and women nod to her and switch their guns. They’re hunkered down in the basement of an old rundown building. A crate of weapons was opened and distributed amongst the crowd.

“Settle down,” a stout woman called. “The Commander speaks!”

From the shadows, a woman stepped out. “As you know, we’ve lost a great deal over the past week. Our leaders are gone, our funds are frozen and we are hunted like dogs all over Republic City. But we can weather this. We may be down, but not out.  I have never led you wrong. Trust me, and we can still achieve everything we’ve dreamt of. We can still save the Earth Kingdom. Are you with me?”

The answer was a resounding yes.

“First, we need to protect our element of surprise. I have an address. It’s south out of the centre and it shouldn’t attract too much attention. We set out two days from now. Be prepared. We need to scout the area. I want to know patrol times, neighbours and routines.”

“Yes ma’am,” a big burly man saluted. “Will you need one of these?”

“No. I entrust my safety to you. On the premises you can take anything you want.” Kuvira spun the chamber of the revolver. “All I require is a dead body.”


	15. Chapter 15

I’m sitting in my big armchair when my lamp blows. I slowly get to my feet and pull out my toolbox. I’m tipsy, but not drunk. Not yet anyway. If I’m ever going to fix it, might as well fix it now. I reach up and touch the light bulb. I snatch my hand away and curse. The thing was burning hot. It’s just not worth the effort. I collapse back in my seat and bask in the dazed feeling of watching the world go by.

There’s a soft knocking at my door. “Coming!” I call and almost trip on my way to the door. Maybe I’m drunker than I thought. I unlatch the door and swing it wide open. So much for extra security.

There’s a ghost on my doorstep. I freeze. She’s got raven black hair cascading like a waterfall down her back. Her skin is pale in the moonlight. Her lips are red as sin and when she looks at me, I see the bright green eyes that have been haunting me. There’s just no way Asami is here.

“Korra?” I don’t reply. My brain is fishing for a solution to this mystery in the alcohol-induced haze. “Can I come in?”

“Of course.” Belatedly, I wonder if it’s a bad idea to invite a ghost into your home. It’s too late. She’s stepped over the threshold and the door swing shut behind her. I stare at her and she actually looks nervous. Asami has never struck me as the nervous type. She was always sure and strong. Look at how she handled Kuvira, for goodness sakes. She played Kuvira and saved my life. “Are you alive?” Ah, my brain has finally sorted itself out.

“What do you think?” Asami arches an eyebrow at me. There, that Asami was back.

“No?”

“I am,” she touches my forearm. She’s solid alright. My skin is tingling where her hand touches me and I feel chills on my spine. I can’t take my eyes off her. Ironically, I've held her and touched her face, but I've never seen her up so close. I've definitely never seen Asami with make-up on before. She's absolutely stunning. She turns to inspect my house and notices the one blown light. "Need help?"

"No! It's okay. Make yourself at home." The way she moves is simply too graceful to be real. Asami seats herself on the armchair. 

“How are you doing?"

"Fine. Good." I rub my elbow. "Maybe not so good. Better now actually. Since you're here." Oh, I had so not meant to say that last part. "I can't believe you're alive," I murmur. "And in my living room." And in my armchair. My eyes widen as I remember several dreams featuring that armchair. I turn a deep shade of red as my mind goes straight into the gutter. 

"Why are you blushing?" Asami asks me. She picks up an empty bottle on the table. "Have you been drinking?”

“Exactly three months ago, on this very day, I was kidnapped.” I take another huge gulp of my choice of poison. “I can't say there's no silver lining. I met a beautiful girl." Oh, why can't I just stop talking? Asami blushes prettily. I decide that the only way to prevent my verbal diarrhoea is to fill it with alcohol. I drain my glass. "Care to have some?”

Asami nods. I walk to the kitchen to fetch another glass. When I get back, she’s looking at something on the table and smiling wanly to herself. “Did you write this?”

“Yeah.” I pour her a drink.

“Don’t quit your job in physics just yet,” Asami says. She downs half the glass in one go.

“So, what are you doing here?”

Asami studies at me for a long moment as she takes another mouthful of her drink. Her glass is almost empty. “Nothing,” she says finally. “Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

I stare at her. How do I tell her that she’s been lingering in my mind every night since I came home? “Fine,” I say. “You didn’t tell me you were alive.”

“I didn’t think it mattered.” She gives me a half-smile. It’s that maddening half-smile again. She smiles, but her eyes look so full of sorrow. How could it no matter that she was alive? Was there no one else who cared?

“Well, it does,” I inform her.

“Why?” Her gaze reaches into me and pulls forth every emotion I have had about her, every sleepless night, and every moment I wished she was still alive.

I lean forward and I kiss her.

Her lips don’t move. I pull away, horrified at my lapse of judgment. “Sor—”

Asami moves and she presses against me. Suddenly, she’s kissing me. It’s so much better than my wildest imagination. Her lips are full and soft, and the way they move against mine– My brain just stops thinking. My every nerve is tingling and my lips are on fire. Alcohol and Asami, I realise, is a bad combination for thinking. The warmth of her body envelops me and I breathe in her sweet scent. My pulse races and I feel alive. I’m drunk on Asami. My tongue swipes against hers. 

Asami changes tact. She’s kisses me hard, almost bruisingly. Suddenly, the kiss is a desperate frenzy and I’m giving it everything I’ve got. She’s backing me up and my back hits the wall. Her teeth graze my bottom lip and I’m pretty sure I moan. There’s something wrong, but I don’t know if I can bear to break this kiss to find out. Her hands are clutching onto my shoulders, as though she’s afraid I’ll disappear. Her lips ravish mine, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from giving in. Her lips move to my jaw and I writhe as she bites down hard. Her hands cup my ass and she squeezes. I don’t know why she’s kissing me like this. My heart is pounding. Maybe all she wants a quick release, a petty fling. I'm so tempted to give her just that. I know I can at least guarantee her a good time, but that's not the way I want it. With what little control I have left, I flip us.

I pin her to the wall with my hips, and slowly, tenderly, I kiss her. This is how it is supposed to be. It’s not fast, it’s not desperate. There’s nobody waiting, nobody watching, nobody caring about the two of us. I want to savour this moment. I can taste the wine on her breath as I gently caress her lips with mine, stroking softly. Asami resists. She tries to move faster, but I refuse. Her hands reach up to my face but I pin her hands lightly above her head as I kiss her with every bit of feeling in my heart. All of a sudden, she gives in. She matches the motion of my lips. My hands stroke gently up and down her sides as my lips trail along her jaw to her neck. She shifts for me as I taste the porcelain skin. I hit a particularly sensitive spot and her hips push against me. Asami gasps. It's a wonderful noise. I press further into her warm embrace.  I don’t know why, but the softer I kiss her, the more I feel like she’s falling apart in my hands. Tentatively, I touch her tongue with mine and I invite her to come and dance with me. We move in beautiful harmony.

I pull back to meet her gaze. Asami looks at me and I see tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” I ask, alarmed.

”Nothing,” Asami says. “I’m just…happy.” I brush away the tears with my thumbs and move my lips to her ear.

“Stay the night,” I whisper. I don’t know what I’m expecting or what I’m asking for. I don’t know what’s going on and I can barely think straight, but I can’t let her go again. My heart is breaking just looking at her cry.

"I can't. I should go," Asami says. Her voice wavers. "Don't make it harder."

"Then don't leave," I say. "Stay with me." I kiss her again and when I withdraw, Asami still has her eyes closed. Asami nods once, almost imperceptibly. 

* * *

 

Their destination was a squat building in an inexpensive neighbourhood. Kuvira gestured and her team moved forward. The neighbours should be home but asleep and the next police patrol would only come in more than an hour. It was more than enough time for them to get who they came for.

“Let’s go,” the brawny man muttered. The lock was easily picked but the door is latched from the inside. “I’ll take this.” The man aimed and kicked hard. The latch broke and the door swung noisily open. Their element of surprise was gone. They’d better make this quick. “Upstairs.” He led the team up the flight of steps. They moved quickly, efficiently. They had been trained for this. The door upstairs was locked again. One of his men kicked the door hard, right near the edge. Five kicks and the lock buckled, swinging wide open. The team stepped into the room.

There’s a tense echo of a gunshot and a red splatter. “Bastards,” Lin said as she crouched behind an upturned table, a shotgun in hand. “Get out of my house.”

* * *

 

I’m back in the lab in the prison. I look around. Nobody’s around. There’s no sound other than the quiet humming of the generator. No guards, no Asami. I look around and I see the glass. The writing on the glass is printed thick black ink. I see the numbers and the symbols swimming in front of me. Suddenly Kuvira is there, just behind me. She's holding a revolver with a single bullet. Kuvira points it to me left. I turn and I see Asami, just beyond the glass, her back towards us. I shout and pound on the window. "Failure," Kuvira says, "has serious consequences." She swings the gun suddenly over, points it at my head, and BANG!

I jerk awake. There's faint sunlight coming through the window. One month too late, I know where the tunnel was. It’s the only logical place where so much noise can be masked. It was in the generator room all along. I lie still and catch my breath. And Kuvira. I haven’t heard about Kuvira on the news or seen her in the profiles the agents asked me to identify. Could it be that she’s still alive? My heart clenches. I reach for Asami, but my hand comes up cold and empty. Asami is gone.

* * *

 

Mako received the reply a day before the deadline. _The bait is me. What’s our first move? -- A_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you can tell, but Asami is absolutely my favourite.


	16. Chapter 16

The next time I see Asami, she’s on the front page of my newspaper. Her picture draws my attention immediately. I read the article below it and I blink. Asami Sato returns to the spotlight and announces a gala dinner to sooth stakeholders. How have I never made the connection between Asami Sato and Future Industries? Their products were called Satomobiles, for goodness sakes. If that wasn’t enough, her sick engineering skills should have been a dead giveaway.

It had been a week since Asami visited me. Life went on as usual. I went to work, came back for dinner and some relaxation. There was no sign that Asami had even been here. It could almost have been a dream. I settle back into my armchair. There’s a question that’s been bugging me. Why did Asami visit me? Now that I’m sober, her whole demeanour that night was settling. She was clearly upset, evading most of my questions. My gut tells me she wanted to talk. But what did she want to talk about? And why me? Maybe she just missed me. But then why didn’t she stay the morning after? I steeple my fingers and begin to think. She wanted to talk to me about something important. And it has something to do with me. But it’s not something good, because she was crying. Our only common history is science, I guess, and the prison. And if you factor in that Kuvira might still be alive…

I sit straight upright. With Kuvira around, there’s a million ways this could go bad. There’s a sure way to find out. Someone owes me a favour, but first I have to find him. I think hard, and then I pick up my telephone and began to dial.

“Hello? This is the Konaraq Hospital in the Southern Water Tribe. I have a patient here named Bolin? He has had a severe accident and was in coma for months. We found some of his work papers indicating you’re his employer. Could you give me some help? I need a contact number of his next-of-kin.”

* * *

 

Mako came into work late. Nothing was going his way today. First, he ran out of coffee at home, so he was forced to get his daily cup from a café along the way. Then, some cyclist bumped into him and he dropped his hard-earned coffee over his shoes. And then it rained. He clutched his damp briefcase tightly as he flew into the office.

“Sorry I’m late, Tenzin. I was just—” The person seated on his boss’ chair wasn’t Tenzin. “Saikhan? Where’s Tenzin?”

“Tenzin was reshuffled by the Agency. With the upcoming deadline on the proposal, he’s been personally tasked by Raiko to oversee security. I’m taking over where he left.” Tenzin’s desk was full of papers. Mako took the chair opposite him. “I’ve been looking over the files, Agent. More men and more money are being pulled to the City Hall on Deadline day, so we don’t have many resources left. I’ve chosen to cut back on one or two of our activities.”

“Which ones?”

Saikhan pushed a file over the table. “I’m pulling the plug on Operation Organization. We’ve caught the ringleaders, frozen their assets and put most of their people in jail. We’ve spent an incredible amount of time and money on this and it’s time to close the case. The only person missing here is,” Saikhan checked the file. “A woman named Kuvira.”

“The bomb is still missing,” Mako pointed out.

“Nonsense.” Saikhan waved his hand. “Forensics have said that the Red Lotus blew up in factory causing the building to collapse. Furthermore, who says such a thing actually exists?”

Mako paused. “One prisoner said she blew up the building by fiddling with the generators.”

Saikhan adjusted the papers into a neat stack. “So, what you’re expecting me to believe is that first, these two girls managed to build a superpowered advance bomb that nobody else has in complete secret. Then next, you expect me to believe a single girl escaped her captors, blew up a factory and then managed to survive that?”

“You have to admit it’s possible, Sir.”

“Possible,” said Saikhan, “is not the same as likely. In any case, I’m open to suggestions. Why don’t you bring her in then? I would like to have a little chat with her. If I see that Kuvira really is a threat, perhaps I can put a request through to Human Resources for more manpower.”

“With due respect, Sir, we’ve already move forward with the next part of the plan,” Mako said uncomfortably.

“Well, tell your people to scrap it.”

“That may not entirely be possible, Sir.”

Saikhan looked at him and sighed. “Mako, you’re supposed to be the elite of this city. You’re telling me you can’t do something so simple as close as operation? Make it happen!”

 “We have reliable information that the Red Lotus will be used on Deadline Day, Sir. Scrapping the project may not be the best idea.” Mako strove stubbornly forward.

“Well then,” Saikhan said, leaning backwards in his chair. “It’s not my problem. Let Tenzin handle it. For now, Agent, why don’t you take a look at this case? The city’s prison has suffered another break-out and guess who’s missing?”

* * *

 

Mako’s phone rang. “Hello?” He pressed it against his ear in the middle of his furious scribbling. Paperwork just won't do itself. 

“Agent Eyebrows?”

“Korra? How’d you get this number?”

“I lied a little. Anyway, listen, do you have five minutes to spare, I need a favour.” 

The two of them sat awkwardly opposite one another. They were in a large noodle bar right around the corner from the station. “So, was this really just for tea?” Mako asked. “You needn’t have bothered.”

“No.” Korra fidgeted in her seat. “So...Asami came over the other night.”

“I know. I received your decision.”

Korra frowned at him. “What decision were you talking about?”

“Didn’t you discuss it? Asami said she was going over to talk to you.”

“We didn’t…really do much talking.”

Mako’s eyebrows shot up and his gears began to turn. “You. And Asami. Oh. Can’t blame you, she’s gorgeous.” Mako sighed as he stirred his coffee. “That’s so messed up.”

Korra frowned. “What?”

“Kuvira is after the both of you. Several days ago, I offered her extra security. She turned me down. Instead, she pitched me the idea of baiting Kuvira. The logical thing was to have you as bait because she was already in hiding. She refused and said she would talk to you about it. I’m guessing it never came up?”

“It didn’t.”

“Asami agreed to be bait.” Mako grimaced and hesitated. “The thing is that just this morning my funding was pulled and the Operation was scrapped.”

Korra looked stunned. “But isn’t Asami all over the papers?”

Mako pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. It’s too late for her to go back on that. I think we’d just have to hope for the best. With Deadline Day so close, perhaps Kuvira will be otherwise distracted.”

“Why did she even agree?” Korra cried agitatedly. Half the restaurant’s patrons looked up curiously at her outburst.

“Shh!” Mako said. He leaned in close. “I can’t pretend to understand what Asami is thinking, but I think I have a good idea.”

“But why?” Korra asked. She was clenching her fists hard. "What makes her think she can just make this decision for me?"

Mako shrugged. “She’s taking the risks so you don’t have to." Mako set down his cup. "If you asked me, I’d say that Asami Sato is very much into you.”

* * *

 

Mako pulled up by the curb side in the company car and jumped out. The front door of the low building was covered with tape. He flashed his badge at the policemen and was grudgingly allowed entry. “Up the stairs. Watch your step,” one man said gruffly. Mako took the stairs three at a time and came into a large room.

Tenzin’s familiar figure stood in the middle of the sunlit room. It was a common living room, except that the couch was riddled with bullet holes. 

“You called? I came as quickly as I could.”

Tenzin nodded. He was looking at the floor, scuffing his shoe against it. Sunlight from the setting sun filtered in through the windows. The place was a dull beige colour, old, but reasonably well-kept. The furniture had been thrashed, the drawers raided. The floor was littered with bullet shells. Tenzin took a deep breath and faced the far wall, hands on his hips.

“Lin died here a few nights ago.”

Mako blinked. To know that the gruff woman was gone was somehow surreal. “Are you sure?” She had been one of the few people in his life who, however briefly, offered him good advice.

“Yes. I came down when I saw the address of the crime. She was surrounded by another nine corpses.” Tenzin finally turned around, his expression grim and pained. “Lin was quite brave. It ended only when she finally ran out of rounds.” In his mind, Mako could imagine the detective fortifying herself behind the couch, blasting away her intruders. That final empty click of the gun must have been like a death knell. “She was killed with a single shot.” Tenzin touched the centre of his forehead. “It’s…a quick way to go at least.”

“Do we know who it is?”

“It’s inconclusive. Neighbours heard the shots but in this part of town, nobody attempts to investigate until the next morning. The amount of firepower and precision…they planned well. You and I both know who it was, I think.”

“Of course! We need to re-open the case,” Mako said urgently.

Tenzin shook his head. “It’s no longer my jurisdiction, and I have no power to do so. Perhaps Lin’s death will make Saikhan reconsider, though I doubt it.” Mako made a strangled noise and turned to leave.

“Kuvira is dangerous,” Tenzin said quietly. “Whatever you plan to do, be careful.”


	17. Chapter 17

Asami’s house is easy to track down, but not easy to get into. The guard, for one, is particularly obnoxious.

“Why don’t you just go and ask Asami?” I say exasperatedly. “She can vouch for me. I have science business with her!”

The guard looks at his list of authorized people. “Sorry ma’am. Please refrain from hanging around or I will call the police.”

I sigh. There’s just no getting into this place. I’m starting to turn away when I see a flashy black car pull up to the gate. The top is down and I recognize the driver immediately. It’s Asami in the flesh. Today, she’s dressed in a maroon top and skirt, together with some nice leather driving gloves. Her makeup is spot on.

“Korra?” Her green eyes look into mine for a moment before she turns away. She fiddles with the dashboard. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you.” I’m suddenly aware of how far out of my league she is. I’m standing on her driveway with my hair in a mess, the same blue sleeveless Water Tribe attire I wore every day.

Asami actually hesitates. “Why don’t you hop in?”

I turn to the guard as I pull open the passenger door. “See, told you we had business.”

The drive up to her garage was short and quick. Asami leads me through a small door and through a maze of corridors. We climb two separate flights of stairs. Everywhere I see tasteful paintings and sculptures, heavy, expensive carpets and curtains. I’m almost afraid to walk on her carpets with my shabby boots.  Asami remains silent and she leads me further into the house.  Eventually, we reach a large room with a writing desk and shelves lining the wall on the top floor. The table and chair set are ornate, made of solid wood with carved designs. There’s an expensive washbasin in one corner. The only plain furniture is two rows of low tables which are occupied by bits and pieces of machines. Asami watches as I take in the room in awe and then moves to the table.

Asami sits herself on the chair. “You wanted to talk?”

“Yes…I uh…” Facing Asami in her element is unbelievably intimidating. I look at her, and I suddenly see the cool elegance and sophistication in her every move, her every expression. She’s giving me no help at all. I feel lost. “Mako said you volunteered.” There, I said it.

Asami’s expression is undecipherable. “I did.”

I’m acutely aware that Asami could, with a single word, have me removed from her house. I’m equally aware that she could snap her fingers and have anybody she wanted. And yet she came to me. It gives me a little bit of hope, and underlying that, a little bit of frustration and anger. “Why?”

“Why not?”

I’m actually feeling incredibly frustrated. Mako and Asami don’t think to tell me a thing and go about making decisions about my life for me. It doesn’t help that I’m currently feeling extremely insecure in Asami’s presence. “Kuvira is dangerous!” I burst out. “And you’re goading her into attacking you? Are you nuts?”

“It’s a calculated move,” Asami looks taken back by my sudden outburst before she recovers herself.

“I am done,” I say, “with being kept in the dark! And you were making my decisions for me, treating me like I’m a fragile doll. I’m not! Newsflash, Asami, we’re in this together. We’ve been in this together ever since I landed in that awful cell.”

“I’m not treating you like a doll,” now Asami sounds defensive. “I’m trying to save your life!”

 “Why?” I ask. “What is this that’s worth saving compared to all this?” I swing my arm wildly and almost knock over an expensive vase.

Asami stands up to match my stance. “Everything!”

 “You went ahead and painted a bullseye on your back. I’m going to do the same. Kuvira can take her pick. I’m not letting you throw your life away playing hero,” I growl.

“Don’t you dare,” she says. We lock stares across the table.

“What’s it to you anyway,” I say wearily. I could never stay mad at her. “We’re already even.”

“No, we’re not. The first time I put you on that jeep -- that was for Opal. For that one time she tried to save me and I let her down. This one,” Asami looks me in the eye. “This one’s for you.”

“No. I don’t want anything in return. If you really want to do me a favour, stay alive.”

Asami sighs and looks down. She moves the papers on her table, and then turns to look at all the decorations in the room. “You ask me what’s worth saving. I could ask you the same thing. My mom is dead, my father in prison. My house is full of spies and my business is crumbling without Dad.” She turns her resolute green eyes towards me. I look around and I realise my mistake. Her house is full of riches, but at the same time it’s so empty. “You have a family. You’re still doing good research, saving the planet one energy crisis at a time. You have hopes and dreams. I’ve watched most of mine die. Who’s worth saving?”

Mako, I think, was very wrong. He’d barely scratched the surface of understanding Asami Sato. I walk around the table. I want to give her a hug but I resist. “Asami, look at me. You’re absolutely worth it. You’re smart and you’re a good person and…you’re you. I can’t imagine the world without you.“

“Korra,” Asami says warningly. “You can’t just come in here and say things like that. I take the risk I have to take. I’m clearing my problems one by one. I’m not hiding from anything anymore.”

“Mako said his department pulled the plug on the project.”

“I know,” Asami says heavily. “But it’s too late isn’t it?”

“Please, don’t do this. We could go away. We could go to the Fire Nation and change our names, and live in peace.”

“We could…but…”

“Kuvira has the Red Lotus,” I finish the sentence for her. We were both guilty of building that weapon and handing it to Kuvira. We both knew it was still in her hands. We couldn’t run now. “Asami, don’t you dare do this,” I say desperately. “Asami, I lo—”

There was a sharp knock on the door. Asami tenses, and then calls out. “Come in.”

The door opens. A tall man with wind-swept ink-black hair walks into the room. He has clean cut features and golden eyes. He wears his suit like he just stepped out of a magazine. It’s unfair how attractive he is. He has Asami’s immediate and complete attention. Behind him, I seem some of the household staff peer into the room, doubtlessly wondering who this handsome visitor.

“Iroh!” Asami says excitedly, rushing around her table and brushing past me. Briefly, I feel her hand brush against mine. Asami throw her arms around his neck and he wraps his arms manfully around her waist. Iroh presses his lips to hers and they meet in a short, passionate kiss. I feel my heart drop and I look away.

“Sorry I’m late. Shan kept me late talking over our vacation to the Fire Nation. Most of the guys have caught the flu and they won’t be able to go. It looks like he wants to carry on though it’ll be only three of us, plus another friend of his. If that’s okay? I owe him a holiday, so I’m not backing out. He says to take care of you on the trip.” He laughs merrily. “Like you’re that fragile.”

“Of course I’m still going,” Asami says hastily. “No worries. I just got home myself.” Asami arches her eyebrow at her loitering staff and they disappear back to work.Her attention switches to me. “This is Iroh, I met him at Shan’s party a few days back. Iroh, this is Korra, an old friend of mine. She was just leaving.” I take the hint and prepare to go.

“Hello,” the man says and shakes my hand. His grip is firm, assured and confident. “Nice to meet  you.” As I reach the doorway, I turn back to Asami and Iroh wrapped in another tight embrace. Asami opens her eyes and her gaze meets mine over his shoulder.

I’d like to imagine she’s saying sorry.

* * *

 

Mako is my next visit. As far as painting bulleyes go, Mako can really help in that department.

“You need to stop calling my personal phone,” Mako frowns at me. We’re at my place, with all latches and locks on the doors and windows. I haven’t got a clue where he lives, but presumably             he knows where I live.

“It’s the only way to get in touch with you, Mr. Mysterious,” I say. “So, with regards to the gala dinner, I’m offering my help.”

“How?” Mako asked. “It’s bad enough that Asami is in this position, but now you want to jump in on it too? What’s with you girls!” he throws his hands in the air. I can see bags under his eyes.

“Well. I’m another distraction, possibly, for Kuvira. Could really mess up her plans.”

“That’s true,” Mako agreed. “But it’s not enough to convince me to put you in danger.”

“Secondly, I know Kuvira. I’m the only one here who actually knows her. I know how she thinks and I can identify her on sight,” I say. “Without me you’re going blind, hoping to react to whatever happens. And lastly, I can take care of myself. I could trounce you in a fight any day.” Mako pauses to reconsider. “How about this. If I beat you in a fight, you have to let me come along.”

Mako splutters. “What? I can’t fight you!”

“Scared you’ll lose?” I move to the middle of the room. “First one to tap out loses.” Mako rolls up his sleeves and we circle in my living room. “Listen to me. If you want any chance at all at predicting Kuvira’s moves, you’ll have to bring me along. You have to involve me.”

“You’ll either be a liability or an asset,” Mako says. “I can’t afford to take chances.”

“Sometimes risks and losses are acceptable,” I say.

Mako winces. “No, they’re not. I hate this mindset. They’re never acceptable, not if you can prevent them from happening.”

“Then why are you an agent?” I furrow my brow. Mako doesn’t reply. Instead, he strikes. Feints with his left, and punches out with his right. I duck under his blow and hit him smack in the sternum. Mako stumbles back, winded.

“You’re fast,” he gasps.

“Oh, you should see me when I’m actually trying to hurt you.” He kicks and it connects. I step back, trying o ignore the sting on my thigh. We trade body blows. I’m watching him closely. I’ve got his pattern now. He hits me hard in the stomach and I reel back. I get knocked again in the jaw and I stagger. He tries to follow it up with a sweeping kick. I dodge backwards. His foot misses my by and inch. An inch is enough. I step forward and kick him once in the chest. Now he’s off balance. I aim and strike. I deck him straight in the head with a spinning kick. Mako crumbles and sprawls flat on the floor. He’s out cold. It looks like I’m coming along for the dinner.

* * *

 

Kuvira wound through the piles of wooden crates into the heart of the warehouse. A portly man was hunched over the Red Lotus. If she couldn’t have the second best engineer, she would get the best right out of prison.

“I hope it’s going well,” she said.

The man removed his welding mask. “It is. It’ll be done on time. The components are all here, just not connected properly.”

“Good.” A man and a woman was standing quietly at the side, watching the engineer with their hands on their guns. “Keep your end of the deal and I’ll keep mine.”

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I? You kidnapped my daughter. If you even lay a hand on Asami…” Hiroshi spluttered a little. He was not used to being both powerless and helpless.

“I always keep my promises,” Kuvira said. “Co-operate and your daughter will go unharmed. I’ll make sure she’s fed and kept well. But you should remember that failure has serious consequences.”

Kuvira made her way to the warehouse next door. A couch had been set up for her, along with a table and chair. This was essentially her home now that she was a wanted woman. The dusty windows of the room overlooked the sunny bay of Republic City.

“Hiroshi still has no idea we don’t have Asami?” the burly man asked.

“Not a clue,” Kuvira replied. “Asami emerged only after we had took him. He definitely doesn’t know.”

“And the Red Lotus?”

“It’ll be finished on time. I looked over the plans myself.”

“They’re expecting us to attack on Deadline Day,” the burly man said as he spread a newspaper over the table. He was sporting a bandaged shoulder. “Traffic disruptions, security checks…it’s going to be tough.”

Kuvira looked at the drawn plans of a building. “A long time ago, I was starving and sick on the streets of Ba Sing Se. Suyin found me, by some miracle, and decided I could be somebody. She nursed me back to health and invited me into her family when my own parents had left me for dead.” She took a deep breath. “Suyin’s in high security jail now and there’s nothing I can do about that. But I am not abandoning her vision.”

“We’ve lost more than I anticipated in our attack on Lin. Much as I would enjoy it, we cannot afford to attack then.” Kuvira sat looking at the calm waters washing over the shore. “It’ll be stupid to strike when our enemies are prepared. Future Industries is having an event at the end of this week. Everybody who’s somebody will be there, Raiko included. I think we would definitely love to attend.” She scanned a list of names. “We’re low on funds, but we still do have loyal people we can rely on.”

“And do you plan on keeping your word to Hiroshi?”

“I always keep my promises. I won’t go out of my way to kill Asami, but there are other annoyances and dangers who might…hang around her.” Kuvira touched her revolver reflexively. “I think she’ll do nicely as bait.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with the story! I appreciate every review and every kudos you guys have given and makes writing so much more fun! Also, I've realised that Varrick's name is Blackstone Varrick and not Varric Blackstone >

“What am I supposed to wear?” Mako is perched on the edge of my bed, careful not to crease the sheets.

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Wear something formal.”

“That’s not very helpful,” I frown. The gala dinner is in a few hours. I’m nervous. I should choose something compatible with my spinning kicks and fast footwork. That means practically zero choices, not if I want to preserve my modesty. Mako is already in his formal dress, a very boring black suit that somehow seems to suit him. His hair is combed neatly for once and he actually looks good. “So, what’s the plan?”

Mako opens his briefcase. “Kuvira’s not on the guest list, obviously, so if she wants to be around, she’ll have to sneak in somehow. I’m guessing service people, or maybe cooks and waiters. We need to keep a look out for them. Asami’s ballroom has a upper gallery that’ll be closed to the public. That’s where we’ll base ourselves. We’ll take turns roaming the floor and observing from above.”

“It’s just you and me against her mini-army?”

“Well, there’s Iroh. But he’s more of a bodyguard than anything.”

“Wait.” I withdraw from my cupboard. “Iroh’s your guy?”

“Yes,” Mako says.

“Oh.” I feel a little bit relieved and a little bit dumb. “So all that business about the vacation to the Fire Nation was all code?”

“Yes,” Mako replies. “Though he did say Asami was, and I agree, super hot.” I almost drop the dress I’m holding. “That dress looks fine,” Mako says.

I study it. It has a long slit up the thigh, which should be sufficient for movement. As for decency, I guess that would be the least of my worries if the situation goes bad. The thigh slit reminds me of something else. “Is there any chance of getting a gun?” I ask hopefully.

Mako shakes his head. “Sorry, licensed holders only. You might shoot yourself by accident,” he points out. I can’t argue. I’ve never held a gun in my life. “And there’s Varrick,” he says.

“Iknik Blackstone Varrick?” I ask. I’ve heard of him. Most of the stories are wild and unbelievable.

Mako nods. “Sort of. He supplied me with this.” He pulls out a device that resembled a large book. “It’s supposed to block incoming and outgoing transmissions in a certain area. Kuvira can’t contact her allies or set off her bomb from a distance.”

“It also means you can’t call the police if things go bad,” I point out.

Mako frowns at the device. It clearly didn’t cross his mind. “I’ll call before I turn the device on,” he says finally, satisfied at the solution.

“What can you tell me about the case?” I ask as I examine my shoe choices.

“Well,” Mako settles back on the bed. “It all began fifteen years ago…”

* * *

 

I take a deep breath at the top of the stairs. I was here just last week, but this time it feels different. The doors are thrown open, and the butler is standing at the entrance.

“Name?”

“Mr. Shan,” Mako points at the register.

“Ah, or course. Welcome,” the butler says. His eyes flicker over me. I’m certain he recognises me.

“Come on,” Mako says impatiently. He’s nervous, of course, we both are.  He offers me his arm. I grasp it and we step through into the golden light of the ballroom. The chandelier is burning bright, the drapes clean and dusted. There is a 10-man band occupying one corner of the room, filling it with sweet music. Tables lined the sides of the room, for the weary dancers to rest their feet. Waiters and waitresses weaved through the throng of people, tray balanced precariously on their palms. The room is full of splendour, but most of all, the people caught my eye. Everybody is turned out in their best. They fill the room with a rainbow of colours, accompanied by the frequent flashes of precious accessories.

Mako’s having none of it. He’s busy cataloguing every person in the room, every visitor and every service person in the room. “There’s Councilman Tarrlok,” he whispers. “And that’s Raiko. With his bodyguards.”

We walk further into the ballroom. I clutch Mako’s arm tightly. I’m never been to such a function with such high society. I’ve never had the remotest desire to.  Even with this dress on and my most sensible pair of heels, I’m feeling exceptionally awkward. It gets worse.

“Hey!” I hear a familiar voice. Iroh is making his way towards us, Asami in tow. His hair is neatly combed and gelled, his shoes polished. He’s wearing a suit cut to his build, cufflinks glinting in the light. Still, it’s nothing compared to Asami. She’s dressed in a floor-length red sleeveless dress with a sash enhancing her slim waist. She’s adorned by a simple set of earrings and necklace andher hair is pinned back with a neat clip, giving me a clear view of her face. Her lashes are painted, thick and lush, and her eyes are shadowed with hints of purple. Her soft lips are ruby red. Asami looks like a dream, except that she’s now frowning at us.

“She’s your date?” She asked, confused.

“Yes,” Mako said.

Asami frowns at me now, and I just grin back at her. She can’t say I didn’t warn her. “That was not the deal.”

“I didn’t really have much choice, and she’s has some assets.” Iroh raises his eyebrows. “Some skills, I mean,” Mako says hurriedly. “That really suits my needs.” Iroh coughs into his hand and Asami looks like she wants to hit him.

Asami opens her mouth to object, but there is a tap on her shoulder. Another old man and his wife is seeking her attention. She gives the both of us a parting glare and Iroh and her obligingly talk to the visitor.

“Okay,” Mako says. “You go on upstairs.” I glance upwards at the balcony. “Asami’s most trusted people have made sure you’ll be undisturbed. The stairs are right there.”

I follow his directions to the corner of the room, where there is a small wooden door. A massive man is standing in front of it. He’s pulling uncomfortably at his collar and his shirt looks ready to rip. Clearly, this isn’t a man used to such high society either. I can sympathize. He recognizes me and lets me through. I wonder what Asami had told him as I climb the stairs.

The gallery is filled with stacks of unused chairs and tables and surrounded by a low rail. From the top, I have a splendid view of the room. The mayor is occupying a very central position in the room as the visitors milled around him, stopping for long discussions. He’s like the sun around which everybody is orbiting. There are actually people dancing in the room, though most of them are lounging at the side. I notice Asami immediately with Iroh sticking faithfully by her side. She flits around, from person to person. They stop to talk to a group of people. Iroh says something and they all laugh. Maybe Iroh was much better suited in this part of Asami’s life, because honestly, I would hate doing this every single day. He makes it look easy.

Nobody’s lingering around suspiciously. The waiters walk with purposeful steps and several guards linger at the side. Some of them are hired by Asami, but most of them are funded by the important guests. I drag a chair to the railing so I can rest my feet as I watch. My feet were already killing me. There’s nobody who vaguely resembles Kuvira. Kuvira has a distinctive walk with her back ramrod straight, arms swinging. I know because we used to tease her about it in school. I try to call forth every memory I have of her and put it to use. She has always been painfully honest, blunt, logical, and smart. I can’t imagine how she would approach this situation.

It feels like a long while before I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. “Your turn,” Mako looks relieved as he sits himself on another chair. He looks far more comfortable up here in the shadows. I return to the ballroom.

* * *

 

If there’s a suspicious character around, it’s me. I’m skulking around the edges of society, stopping only to make the briefest of conversations. I can imagine Mako shaking his head at me. So much for blending in. I’m resting at one of the tables when I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“Care to dance?” Iroh asks with a smile.

“Where’s Asami?”

“She went into the powder room to freshen up.” Iroh says.

“A short one,” I reply extremely ungraciously. I’m not particularly fond of Iroh. We step to the middle of the floor. I’m the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. That means I’ve been taught to dance, but it doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. Iroh, on the other hand, moves with a cat-like grace that reminds me of Asami. I feel a gnawing sense of jealousy at how well they just seem to complement each other. He leads me easily through the dance.

“Been dancing long?” I ask.

“Since I was a boy. Mother made it compulsory.”

“Sounds like my parents,” I grumble.

“I should think so,” Iroh says quietly. “My mother is the Firelord.”

I blink. I don’t know how I missed that. Now I know I’m no match for this guy. He twirls me.

“Am I interrupting something?” We turn to see Asami.

“Not at all,” I say hastily and step back from Iroh. She would want to reclaim her date for the night. Instead, Asami actually grabs my hand, positioning the other around my waist. Iroh is grinning to himself behind her. He steps back to the edge of the crowd, not too far that he can’t see us.

“Let’s dance,” she breathes. Asami is by far the much better dancer. She leads and I try not to step on her feet. Still, she doesn’t feel as graceful as she could be.

“You’re tense,” I say. “Relax.” I squeeze the hand that’s resting on her shoulder and she sighs.

“Why are you here?” Asami says.

“To dance with you,” I grin impishly. Asami shakes her head at me. There’s nothing she can do now that I’m actually in the building. I’m giddy with the feeling of pulling  fast one over Asami.

“I hope it’s a good dance then.”

“It’s totally worth it,” I reply. She twirls me and pulls me close. I feel her every curve intimately pressed against me. Her hand is hot against my hip and I’m brought back to the night we spent together.

“You came with Shan. Something I should know?”

“Maybe,” I say recklessly. I don’t know why I’m saying these things. My brain thinks one thing and mouth says another. “He has the silent, brooding type down to a pat.”

“And…that’s your type?” Asami asks.

“Maybe.” I shrug. “And Iroh?”

“Nope,” Asami says, looking levelly at me. “I’m a one-woman woman.” My heart catches in my throat. “Awkward physicists are my type.”

I blush furiously as the windows shatter.

* * *

 

The guards react instantly. They turn and draw their guns, only to be hit by the rain of broken glass. Intruders are pouring into the room, guns blazing. The music instantly stops as panic takes over the ballroom. It’s utter chaos. The doors have been barred from the outside somehow. I have to marvel at Kuvira’s planning. It’s blunt and bold, just the way she is. Why had we even bothered looking for subterfuge when it was Kuvira we were talking about? Asami has my arm in a death-grip as she tries to think.

I shiver. The intruders’ uniforms are bringing back all the bad memories. Some of them are wearing helmets, but most are not. I don’t see Kuvira anywhere. Kuvira is a little bit of a perfectionist and a control freak. If I were Kuvira and I needed to control the situation, where would I go? My eyes instantly raise to the gallery. Asami has the same thought. We fight our way towards the stairs. We need to make it up before her people have the crowd under control.

“Good evening, Republic City’s finest,” the voice is projected from a loudspeaker amidst the chaos. “This is a hostage situation. “If any of you try to radio the cops, I will bring this building down on us. As proof of my intentions,” there’s a faint boom that comes wafting in through the windows. I look outside to see one building missing from Republic City’s skyline. The Sato tower was gone. “I have a list of demands, Mayor. The first is for you to back out of the proposal with the Earth Queen. If you do not, all your lives are forfeit. All of you.” There is instant chaos again. “The second –“ There is gunshot from the gallery that sparks another round of pushing and shoving from the crowd. I hope for a brief moment Mako found his mark. “The second is for you to provide aid.” It’s an empty hope.

Asami and I take the opportunity to reach the door amidst the chaos. Asami’s man is gone, lying on the floor. Three soldiers with guns are guarding the entrance. They spot us and bar the entrance. So Kuvira doesn’t really want to massacre the whole lot of us. That’s good. I barrel into them, flailing wildly. I’m looking for a good hit, but they’re wearing so much armour. They force me back and one of them draws his gun. He aims. There’s a gunshot behind me and the soldier crumbles. The other two scatter. Iroh has his handgun trained on the other two. “Go!” he shouts.

We duck behind the door as bullets hit the floor behind us. There are returning shots from Iroh. I run up the stairs and trip. Screw these stupid shoes. I pull them off my feet and throw them aside. Ah, that’s better. We sprint up the stairs. The gallery is dark, but I see five of them. They’re all facing away from us. I see the reason. Mako pops his head out, letting off a shot. I wish he’d given me a gun. “Stay back,” I whisper, and I swear Asami rolls her eyes.

I charge for the first one. A sharp kick to the knee and a vicious elbow to the back of the neck. I’m already turning my attention the next one. To my surprise, Asami moves forward, catching the soldier in the crotch, following it with a chop to the throat. She fights exactly like she dances. The last three have noticed us. I hear a stomping of shoes from the other end of the gallery. Reinforcements are coming and they aren’t ours.

“Korra!” Mako yells as I dispatch the one on my right. I hear shoes clicking up the stairs and I pray its Iroh. A bullet flashes past, hitting another soldier. The sole survivor has ducked behind stack of tables. Kuvira is still speaking but my adrenaline drowns out her voice.

“What?”

“I can’t work this thing!”

“Don’t you have instructions?”

“I don’t know! I fell on it when I dived behind here and the damn thing’s gone weird!”

“Asami, help him!” Several soldiers have appeared from the opposite stairs. Iroh slides in beside me behind my pillar. I look at him and shake my head. His bowtie is missing, the collar pulled loose. His hair is in a mess. Iroh still looks like an action star from the movers.

“Go I’ll cover you!” He shoots twice as Asami runs over, head down. I’m amazed she’s still in her heels. Iroh reloads.

“Take them out!” The lone figure says. That’s Kuvira. She’s hiding in an awkward position between us and Mako. The soldiers emerge and take their positions. Now Mako and Asami are in a difficult position between Kuvira and her reinforcements.

“Now what?” I ask.

“We need to take Kuvira out.” Iroh’s eyes are trained on the soldiers. He wings one of them. Mako at least has a gun. “Ammo!” Iroh tosses a cartridge over and Mako catches it neatly. This can’t be the first time they’re in this kind of situations together. The soldiers are advancing slowly, hoping to reach Kuvira.

“I have in my possession a bomb a thousand times more powerful than that,” Kuvira is saying now. “The bomb will wipe Republic City off the map.”

I edge around our stronghold. Kuvira peeks out and fires once. The bullets ricochet off the wall. Two of soldiers are down. I hear footsteps coming up our stairs. That was bad. “Cover me!” I say.

“What are you doing?” Iroh asks.

I run out. Kuvivra appears. She hesitates for a split second. I drop into a roll and dive behind a stack of tables. The bullet whizzes over my head. She could have gotten me with one, if not two shots. She’s being conservative. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say she’s low on ammo. I slide out again and she fires. The bullet clips my arm. But now I’m two steps from her. I need to move faster. She brings the revolver around, but I reach her and hit her arm. The bullet goes wide.

I punch her hard. Kuvira reels back and holsters her gun. She kicks out at my head and I block it solidly. She jabs with a quick one-two and I catch her punch. I step towards her, bring her out of balance and twisting her arm around. I can pin her. It’s over.

“It’s fixed!” I hear Asami call. “It’s ahhh—” It’s a scream that turns my blood runs cold. Kuvira snaps out of my grip. She strikes hard into my jaw. She knees me in the stomach and I drop. Her hands are reaching to her waist. I’m dead if her hand gets on her pistol. I surge upwards. My shoulder connects with her stomach just as she draws her gun. My momentum carries us backwards and right over the rail.

Kuvira fires twice in her panic. It’s a hipshot and it goes wide. I’m too busy hoping we survive the fall. We crash into the table below and it breaks under our weight. Thank goodness for cheap tables. If it had been solid oak I might have broken my back there. As it is, we lie winded for a moment, before I roll to my feet and off the table. I grab Kuvira’s gun. Here is my chance.

This is everything I’ve hoped for.  I kneel on the floor and bring the gun to bear. Kuvira’s forehead is in my sights as she stirs. I stop. I can’t pull the trigger. That one inch is hard and heavy as a brick wall. It is all that separates me from her, the jailor from the prisoner. All she wanted was freedom for her and her people, and Suyin set her down this path of destruction. I wonder which one of us is really free. My hesitation costs me. She hits me in the face and snatches the gun out of my grip. I roll away from her and into the centre of the room. Kuvira has her revolver aimed at me, but she doesn’t fire. In fact, she gestures for her guards to stop. The crowd screams. They’re huddled the middle of the room before the stage, kept in place by Kuvira’s men and women.

“It’s over!” I say.

“It’s not,” Kuvira says calmly. She’s standing in the middle of the room. “We’re going down together.”

“We’ve disabled your communications,” I reply. “You can try if you don’t believe me. I bet my life on it.” Kuvira narrows her eyes at me. “It’s over, Kuvira. The cops are coming. Surrender peacefully, and perhaps things will end a little better.”

“No,” she says. She walks closer. Her revolver is aimed between my eyes. Kuvira looks angrier than I have ever seen her. I’m afraid she’ll shoot me on the spot.

“Nobody move, or I’ll fire!” Mako says. He had come down the stairs and now he was hiding behind a pillar, gun trained on Kuvira. Kuvira’s people look confused and they don’t move. Nobody wants to try Mako’s hand.

Kuvira stops with her revolver a foot from my head. She meets my stare. Suddenly, I know why she didn’t shoot. She has only one bullet left in the chamber. Even through her anger, Kuvira is a brilliant thinker. We both know I’m a waste of a bullet. Mako doesn’t know that though. He doesn’t try to call Kuvira’s bluff, and I can’t tell him to without giving it away. Her eyes slide past me into the crowd behind.

“Put it down,” Mako repeats tersely.

I know her. I know what she’s going to do. I just can’t stop it. “Don’t,” I mutter. “You can still be forgiven.” Her mouth is set in a firm line. Her expression stern and yet scared. “Don’t. Please don’t.”

“Failure,” she says. “is unacceptable.”

Kuvira fires. I flinch, but I don’t move. The bullet whizzes just past my ear. There’s a second accompanying shot, almost in perfect time as the first. The tension breaks with that shot. The crowd is going hysterical behind me and her soldiers make a run for it.

Mako is coming closer, holding the smoking gun. Kuvira drops her revolver as she falls to her knees. She’s clutching her chest. It’s a messy shot. “I have her revenge…” she mutters. “and our freedom…” Kuvira crumpled to the floor, blood flowing from her chest. “Suyin…” she says. Mako’s looking down at the body of his brother’s killer, his expression inscrutable.

I turn to observe the damage. Kuvira’s aim was true. Raiko lies still and lifeless. Her last bullet struck him in the forehead. His eyes are opened, staring at the ceiling, his mouth gaping with shock. There, on the floor, is Suyin’s revenge, Lin’s revenge. It’s fifteen years too late and comes at the hands of Suyin’s adopted daughter and Lin’s murderer. It’s so twisted I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. After all that, Kuvira had accomplished her goal. There was no way Deadline Day would ever happen now. Republic City’s politicians would be in a mad scramble for the top. The doors burst open as the police finally arrive on the scene.

“Are you alright?” Iroh is standing behind me, looking worried. “Korra? Mako?”

“I’m fine,” I force out. Mako remains silent as I come to my senses. “Where’s Asami?”

“I stopped the blood flow and brought her to the medics. They’re bringing her to the hospital as fast as they can.” He turns to Mako. “I take it the mission is a success?”

“It almost was,” Mako says. “I’ll get on with the clean-up work.”

“I’ll help,” I say.

“No, you should go. You’re after all, a civilian,” Mako says wearily. He looks like he aged a decade in an hour. “Go on,” Mako says. “We’ll be fine here.” I gather my skirt and step over blood on the floor. The crowd are being ushered out of the mansion. I glance behind as I follow them out. Mako is standing over Kuvira with Iroh’s hand on his shoulder. His head is bowed, his boots slowly being swamped by the growing pool of blood.

* * *

 

Mako rested his head in his hands. Kuvira had played them all.

The Red Lotus was never in Republic City. Hours after her death, a known associate named Ghazan detonated the bomb in Ba Sing Se. It is unclear how she had intended to leave Republic City alive. With both Raiko and the Earth Queen gone, there would be no deal.

Saikhan slapped the report down on his desk. “What do you have to say for yourself, Agent?” Mako remained silent. “Allowing the Mayor to get killed, then killing our source of information? If we had Kuvira alive we might have prevented the detonation of the Red Lotus in Ba Sing Se!”

“I thought you said the Red Lotus didn’t exist?” Mako was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since the dinner. He had enough of this whole business, and now he had to handle Saikhan.

“Well, it clearly does! The situation will have to remain under wraps to prevent alarming the Republic City. Look at this mess I have to clean up!” Saikhan was raging, his spit flying over his desk. This was a small man. A small, small man with no regard for the bigger picture. “Do you know how bad this looks for me? Casualties from the collapse of the Sato Tower! Carrying out operations behind my back! Calling in external help for the United Forces! What do you have to say for yourself?”

Mako took his badge from his pocket. “I quit.”

* * *

 

I step into the ward. I’ve been waiting for days for her to stabilize and I’m finally allowed to visit. I walk straight to her bed. Her black hair is splayed over the white pillow as she slumbers peacefully. She hooked up to a drip and a beeping heart monitor. I look at her bedside table. It’s sadly empty. No get-well-soon cards, no concerned relatives. I sit by her bedside. Asami had been shot twice. The first in the torso, and the second in the leg. The bullets had missed her vital organs and doctors said she would make a full recovery. It’s the first good rest I’ve gotten. This feels a little bit like the time she had the fever. I tell her my life story and she doesn’t reply, but still that’s okay. It makes me feel a little closer to her. The chair is comfortable and it’s the first real rest I’ve gotten for several hours.  I must have dozed off, because the next thing I hear is Mako’s voice.

 “She’s still asleep?” Mako is standing beside me with Iroh by his side. They’re carrying flowers and a large balloon. I nod and rub the sleep from my eyes.

“Oh. Would’ve loved to talk to her,” Iroh says. I must have glared at them because Mako sighs and rubs his temple.

“Why do you do this?” he asks Iroh. “Don’t mind him. He’s just baiting you.”

Iroh grinned at me. “Sorry about all the hugging and the kissing. It was kinda the job description. If it makes you feel any better, she’s so into you. Told me right off the bat on the first day so as not to get my hopes up.” They put the gifts on the bedside table. Now it looks a little better.

The peace of the room is broken by the ringing of Mako’s phone. He steps outside to take it. When he comes back, he looks stressed. “I’ve got to be somewhere else.  When she wakes up, do tell her we dropped by.”

“I will,” I reply and watch them leave. “Hey Asami,” I say. There’s no response. I hesitate. “Hey beautiful.” The beeping of the heart monitor speeds up and I grin. “I know you’re awake. You can stop pretending.”

Asami opens her emerald eyes sheepishly. “Got me.”

“How do you feel?” I ask.

“Sleepy, mostly,” Asami says. “I’m too full of chemicals to feel pain. Did we get Kuvira? I think I passed out halfway.” I reach out and boldly brush her hair back from her eyes.

“Sort of. We shot her.”

“Well.” Asami sighs. “It’s over then. What will you do now?”

“Go back to work, normal life.” I reply. It doesn’t seem like the answer she’s hoping for. I pause. “It would be great, you know, if…if…” I can’t find the right words. Asami looks at me curiously. I gather my courage. This was way worse than fighting Kuvira hand-to-hand. “Would you like to go out with me?” I’m certain I’m blushing enough to light up the room. “On a proper date.”

Asami’s hand creeps out from underneath her blanket and touches mine. I hold on tightly. “Of course I would,” she’s smiling radiantly at me. My grin can’t contain itself. “I would love to.” Asami yawns. “Not that you’re boring, but I’m just really tired.”

“Oh! Go to sleep then,” I say. Asami smiles again at me as she closes her eyes. I watch as she slips easily into unconsciousness. I lean down and press my lips against her forehead.

* * *

 

The streets are packed today. It’s a day of citywide mourning. The three of us load into Asami’s car and she takes us to the pier. Despite her injuries, Asami insists on driving. She wouldn’t trust me with her baby. We take the ferry across to Air Temple Island. An older man called Tenzin meets us there. Apparently he used to be Mako’s boss.

He leads us to the start of the trail and we begin to climb. Asami leans on her crutch as we climb slowly. I had offered to carry her, but she turned me down in no uncertain terms. The trail leads us up a high cliff. At the apex, we stop to catch our breaths. The wind caresses our faces as we look across the bay to Republic City. There’s Asami, me and Mako. We proceed to dig a small hole in the ground. When it’s done, we all step back.

“Let’s get on with it,” Mako says gravely.

Asami moves forward. She’s holding a picture of a smiling girl with black hair and green eyes. “For Opal. For everything she gave to me, a complete stranger. She is the reason I’m alive today.” The files are all classified and the Agency won’t be releasing them anytime soon. Opal’s family would not know what really happened to her until then. Asami places the picture in the hole. She leans heavily against me as Mako steps forward.

“For my brother, Bolin. I miss you every day,” Mako mutters. “I miss your stupid jokes, your laugh, your smile. I miss how annoying you are when you sing in the shower, and bug me about finding a girl. Wish you were here, Bolin.”

“You saved my life when you shouldn’t have,” Asami says. “I’m forever in your debt.”

It’s my turn now. I’m not quite sure what to say. How do I express what Bolin meant to me in that short time I knew him? “You were the best of us, Bolin,” I say in the end. Mako puts a red scarf into the hole and we cover it with dirt. There is a sensation that I’m finally giving Bolin a proper send-off. The case is over and I’m putting to rest his memory.

Tenzin walks forward with an urn under his arm. We had only one body for the three dead people. He opens the top and scatters it to the wind. “We haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I hope I’ve done right by you. Sometimes I sit and wonder what I could have done differently. Could I have warned you perhaps? Prevented your death? But in the end, it doesn’t matter. You went out giving them hell.” Tenzin took a deep breath. “Look at the city, Lin. Our precious city is safe.” We glance at the city so vibrant with life. It could have been very different. “It’s been a long, hard road, Lin, but I hope you finally find the peace you’re looking for.”

Across the water, the horns sound as Raiko’s funeral procession begins.

* * *

 

Asami is standing next to me in the small wicker balloon. “You’re lucky I’m not afraid of heights,” I mutter.

She laughs. “I checked.” We’re in a hot air balloon high above Republic City. I can see the lights twinkling beneath us, a sea of life. Everything’s so quiet up here other than the wind. There’s perfect weather tonight. It’s not raining and there’s full moon out.

“So what do you think?”

“The view is nice,” I agree.

“We helped save it. I have the scars to show for it.” Her crutch lies abandoned at one side of the basket as she leans against me for support. Her eyes reflect some of the light of the full moon. They’re so full of hope and happiness

“Battle scars,” I correct her. “They’re always sexy.” Asami blushes. It’s adorable. I grin at her. I can’t believe I can hold her hand when I want to, kiss her when I want to.

“What are you thinking?” Asami asks,

“I’m thinking about how something so good,” I whisper as I caress her cheek. “can come out an experience so bad.”

“So, how about that vacation to the Fire Nation?” she asks. Her lips curve into a warm smile.  I can’t resist and I press my lips against hers. Her lips are soft and luscious as always and they move in time with my own. Asami, as always, knows me better than I know myself. Her arms wrap around my waist as she sighs into the kiss. I breathe in the scent that’s uniquely Asami.

“Just the two of us?” I ask and she nods.

I release a contented sigh. I think of everything we went through. We are unbelievably lucky to be alive. “Sounds perfect.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ironically, if Saikhan had been at the dinner and called Kuvira's bluff to prove the existence of the Red Lotus, she would have been toast.

**Author's Note:**

> Because, if it can happen to Iron Man, it can happen to anyone, amirite?


End file.
